Slow NZ migration sees population growth fall by 90 per cent

Slower migration to New Zealand because of the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the Pacific country seeing its population growth fall by more than 90 per cent.

According to Statistics NZ, New Zealand’s population growth from migration is at less than 1,000 people a month – a figure which is down by more than 90 per cent compared to a year ago.

In October 2019, NZ had 17,121 new arrivals and 6,897 departures, which led to a net migration gain of 10,224 people.

However, in October 2020 there were 2,618 arrivals in NZ and 1,733 departures, which resulted in a net migration gain of just 885 people.

This shows how massive the magnitude is of the impact Covid-19 has had on international travel and migration to New Zealand.

New Zealand citizens’ migration statistics show that there were 1,639 arrivals and 411 departures, which resulted in a net New Zealand citizen gain of 1,228 in October 2020.

For non-New Zealand citizens, there was a net migration loss; 1,322 non-New Zealand citizens left the country in that time, and only 979 arrived – resulting in a net migration loss of 343.

Table: Migration statistics for 2019 and 2020