WELLINGTON, May 29 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand is more ethnically diverse and aging slightly, with the population growth slowing considerably over the past few years, the statistics department Stats NZ said on Wednesday.
The resident population of New Zealand grew by 294,168 people between the 2018 and 2023 censuses to nearly 5 million people, according to the 2023 Census of Population and Dwellings released by Stats NZ.
Population growth slowed to 6.3 percent between the 2018 and 2023 censuses, down from the 10.8 percent growth rate between the 2013 and 2018 censuses, Government Statistician and Stats NZ Chief Executive Mark Sowden said.
More people live in the North Island, especially in New Zealand's largest city Auckland, with three in four people living in the North Island and one in three people residing in Auckland in 2023, Sowden said.
Population growth was fastest in the South Island, which was 7.3 percent, between 2018 and 2023, compared with the North Island, at 5.9 percent, he said, adding all regions saw growth in their population between 2018 and 2023.
Population growth was slowest regionally in the capital Wellington and Southland at 2.8 percent and 2.7 percent respectively, while Selwyn and Queenstown-Lakes districts continued to be the fastest population-growing territorial authorities in New Zealand, the 2023 census showed.
In terms of ethnic diversity, one in five people was of Maori descent in 2023, up by 12.5 percent between 2018 and 2023, to nearly 1 million people, Sowden said.
While people of European ethnicity made up 67.8 percent of the population in 2023, the ethnic makeup of the population continued to diversify, with Maori, Asian, Pacific peoples, and Middle Eastern/Latin American/African ethnic groups growing significantly faster than the European ethnic group, he said.
New Zealand's population continues to age, with the median age of the population rising to 38.1 years in 2023, compared with 37.4 years in 2018, he added. ■
