Number of Aucklanders born overseas tops 500,000 - Census

The number of New Zealanders who were born overseas had reached more than a million by the 2013 Census, Statistics NZ said today.

The Census also found more than 500,000 Aucklanders were born overseas (of a total Auckland population that grew by 110,000 since 2006 to 1.42 million).

This increase has led to more diversity in our ethnic, religious, and linguistic make-up, the agency says.

“People born overseas now make up more than a quarter of New Zealand’s population, and results from last year’s census show that they’re coming from an increasingly diverse range of countries,” General Manager 2013 Census Gareth Meech said. “Back in 1961, two-thirds of overseas-born people came from the United Kingdom and Ireland. By 2013, that figure had dropped to just over a quarter.”

While England remained the most common overseas country of birth at the 2013 Census, with China second, India replaced Australia as the third most common. Australia dropped to fourth position, followed by South Africa, Fiji, Samoa, and the Philippines.

New Zealand’s Asian ethnic group population almost doubled over the last 12 years. In 2013, 471,708 people identified with at least one Asian ethnicity, compared with 238,179 in 2001. Within this grouping, the Indian ethnic group was among the fastest growing, increasing almost 50 percent since 2006. This compared with an increase of 16.2 percent for people of Chinese ethnicity, which remained the most common Asian ethnic group in 2013.

“The growing Asian population is reflected by a rise in the number of people identifying with non-Christian religions,” said Mr Meech. “The number of people who affiliated with the Hindu religion increased 39.6 percent since 2006, and Islam grew 27.9 percent.”

New Zealand is also becoming more multilingual. In 2013, 18.6 percent of us could speak more than one language, up from 15.8 percent in 2001. The Hindi and Northern Chinese languages had large increases, with the number of Hindi speakers almost tripling since 2001, and speakers of Northern Chinese languages (such as Mandarin) almost doubling.

“This kind of information helps organisations, researchers, and community groups better understand the cultural make-up of our society, and how this is changing over time,” said Mr Meech. “Combined with other census data, this information means organisations can target the services they provide to meet the needs of a growing range of communities.”

Half a million Aucklanders born overseas
More overseas-born people live in Auckland than in any other region in New Zealand, Statistics NZ says . Results from the 2013 Census show that 39.1 percent of Auckland residents were born overseas, compared with just 18.2 percent of people living outside the region.

“These results provide a fascinating picture of our most culturally diverse region,” General Manager 2013 Census Gareth Meech said.

Among the 517,182 Aucklanders born overseas, the most common birthplace reported at the 2013 Census was Asia, followed by the Pacific Islands, then the United Kingdom and Ireland.

“The Auckland region accounted for two-thirds of New Zealand’s Asian and Pacific ethnic group populations, and half of its Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African ethnic group population,” said Mr Meech.

Auckland’s Asian ethnic population has seen significant growth since the last census. In 2013, 23.1 percent of people living in the Auckland region identified with one or more Asian ethnic groups, compared with 18.9 percent in 2006.

The Auckland local board areas with the highest proportions of Asian residents in 2013 were Puketapapa, at 44.2 percent, Howick, at 38.8 percent, and Whau, with 35.4 percent.

Across the Auckland region, 59.3 percent of people identified with a European ethnic group – the lowest proportion in the country. Nationwide, 74.0 percent of people identified with at least one European ethnicity.

Auckland was the only region with a decrease in the proportion of people identifying with Māori ethnicity, down slightly from 11.1 percent in 2006 to 10.7 percent in 2013.

“Auckland is also New Zealand’s most multilingual region, with nearly 30 percent of people reporting they spoke more than one language,” said Mr Meech.

Following English, which was spoken by 93.7 percent of the region’s population, the most common languages in the Auckland region were Samoan (spoken by 4.4 percent of people) then Hindi (spoken by 3.8 percent).

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