There are more of us but birth rate declines

Figures released by Stats NZ show that New Zealand’s population continued to grow in the year ended September 2022, but the birth rate declined, following a long-term trend. The country’s total population reached 5,127,400, growing by 12,400 compared to the previous year. Females outnumbered males by 40,300. Natural population increase – the number of births minus deaths – was 20,900. However, negative net migration of -8400 – the number of migrants arriving minus those leaving – brought down total population growth. Other figures showed that in the year ended June 2022, the Māori population grew by 2.0% to 892,200, making up 17.4% of the total population. Growth in the Māori population largely outpaced total population growth, which only increased by 0.2%.