Total population | |
---|---|
2023 Census: 95,577 (1.5% of New Zealand's total population) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
South African-born people by region (2018) [1] | |
Auckland | 36,759 |
Waikato | 6,936 |
Wellington | 6,435 |
Canterbury | 6,195 |
Bay of Plenty | 4,299 |
Northland | 1,923 |
Manawatū-Whanganui | 1,830 |
Languages | |
English (New Zealand, South African), Afrikaans | |
Related ethnic groups | |
South African diaspora, Dutch New Zealanders |
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
2001 | 26,061 | — |
2006 | 41,676 | +59.9% |
2013 | 54,276 | +30.2% |
2018 | 71,382 | +31.5% |
2023 | 95,577 | +33.9% |
Source: National censuses [2] |
South African New Zealanders are New Zealanders who were either born in South Africa or are descendants of South African migrants. As of the 2023 New Zealand census, there were 95,577 South African-born people resident in New Zealand, or 1.52% of the country's population, making South Africa the 5th largest source of immigrants in New Zealand behind the United Kingdom, China, India, and Australia. [3] While South Africans have migrated to New Zealand since the 19th century, over 90 percent of South Africans in New Zealand today have migrated since the fall of apartheid in the early 1990s. [4] Most South African New Zealanders are of White South African origin.
The demographics of New Zealand encompass the gender, ethnic, religious, geographic, and economic backgrounds of the 5.3 million people living in New Zealand. New Zealanders predominantly live in urban areas on the North Island. The five largest cities are Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Tauranga. Few New Zealanders live on New Zealand's smaller islands. Waiheke Island is easily the most populated smaller island with 9,140 residents, while Great Barrier Island, the Chatham and Pitt Islands, and Stewart Island each have populations below 1,000. New Zealand is part of a realm and most people born in the realm's external territories of Tokelau, the Ross Dependency, the Cook Islands and Niue are entitled to New Zealand passports.
Canterbury is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of 44,503.88 square kilometres (17,183.04 sq mi), making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of 694,400.
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of 113,729 km2 (43,911 sq mi), it is the world's 14th-largest island, constituting 43% of New Zealand's land area. It has a population of 4,077,800, which is 76% of New Zealand's residents, making it the most populous island in Polynesia and the 28th-most-populous island in the world.
Gisborne is a city in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the Gisborne District. It has a population of 38,800. Gisborne District Council has its headquarters in the central city.
Chinese New Zealanders or Sino-New Zealanders are New Zealanders of Chinese ancestry. The largest subset of Asian New Zealanders, many of the Chinese immigrants came from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or other countries that have large populations of Chinese diaspora. Today's Chinese New Zealand group is also composed of diasporic communities from Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Singapore. As of 2018, Chinese New Zealanders account for 4.9% of the population of New Zealand, and are the largest Asian ethnic group in New Zealand, accounting for 36.3% of Asian New Zealanders.
Indian New Zealanders or informally known as Kiwi Indians are people of Indian origin or descent who live in New Zealand. The term includes Indians born in New Zealand, as well as immigrants from India, Fiji, other regions of Asia, parts of Africa such as South Africa and East Africa, and from other parts of the world. The term Indian New Zealander applies to any New Zealander with one or both parents of Indian heritage. Although sometimes the Indo-Kiwi definition has been expanded to people with mixed racial parentage with one Indian parent or grandparent, this can be controversial as it generally tends to remove the ethnic heritage or identity of the foreign parent or grandparent, which may be seen as insensitive to those with mixed parentage, who tend to value both their Indian and non-Indian parents and grandparents.
Korean New Zealanders, also referred to informally as Korean Kiwis, Kokis or Kowis, are New Zealand citizens and residents of Korean ancestry. The 2018 New Zealand census found 35,664 Koreans in the country, virtually all from South Korea, making them the fourth-largest Asian population there, and more than 0.75 percent of the total population of New Zealand.
Spanish Australians refers to Australian citizens and residents of Spanish descent, or people who were born in Spain and immigrated to Australia. There are approximately 123,000 Australians who are of full or partial Spanish descent, most of whom reside within the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne, with lesser but rapidly growing numbers in Brisbane and Perth. Of these, according to the 2011 Australian census, 13,057 were born in Spain.
Filipino New Zealanders refers to New Zealanders who migrated from the Philippines or descendants born in New Zealand of Filipino ancestry.
Māori Australians are Australians of Māori heritage. The Māori presence in Australia dates back to the 19th century when Māori travelled to Sydney to trade, acquire new technology, and learn new ideas. The Māori population in Australia remained marginal until the 1960s. During the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries, thousands of Māori would emigrate from New Zealand to pursue employment opportunities in blue collar occupations such as shearing, construction, manufacturing, and mining. In 2013, there were approximately 140,000–170,000 people with Māori ancestry living in Australia. Māori Australians constitute Australia's largest Polynesian ethnic group.
Samoan New Zealanders are Samoan immigrants in New Zealand, their descendants, and New Zealanders of Samoan ethnic descent. They constitute one of New Zealand's most sizeable ethnic minorities. In the 2018 census, 182,721 New Zealanders identified themselves as being of Samoan ethnicity with 55,512 stating that they were born in Samoa, and 861 stating that they were born in American Samoa.
The British diaspora consists of people of English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, Cornish, Manx and Channel Islands ancestral descent who live outside of the United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies.
South African Americans are Americans who have full or partial ancestry from South Africa. As of 2021, there were approximately 123,461 people born in South Africa who were living in the United States. There are large populations in Southern California, especially in Orange County and San Diego County, and the Miami, Florida area.
New Zealanders of African descent represent less than 0.3% of New Zealand's population, although the number has been growing substantially since the 1990s.
Dutch New Zealanders are New Zealanders of Dutch ancestry. Dutch migration to New Zealand dates back to the earliest period of European colonisation. The 2013 census recorded 19,815 people born in the Netherlands and 28,503 people claiming Dutch ethnicity.
Australian New Zealanders refers to New Zealanders whose origins are in Australia, as well as Australian migrants and expatriates based in New Zealand.
The 2013 New Zealand census was the thirty-third national census. "The National Census Day" used for the census was on Tuesday, 5 March 2013. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,242,048 – an increase of 214,101 or 5.3% over the 2006 census.
German New Zealanders are New Zealand residents of ethnic German ancestry. They comprise a very large amount of New Zealanders in terms of heritage, with some 200,000 people from the country having at least partial German ancestry. New Zealand's community of ethnic German immigrants constitute one of the largest recent European migrant groups in New Zealand, numbering 12,810 in the 2013 census. 36,642 New Zealanders spoke the German language at the 2013 census, making German the seventh-most-spoken language in New Zealand.
Asian New Zealanders are New Zealanders of Asian ancestry . At the 2023 census, 861,573 New Zealanders identifying as being part of the Asian ethnic group, making up 17.3% of New Zealand's population.
The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census.