New Zealand’s population provisionally reached five million in March, aided by surging immigration in recent years, the nation’s statistics agency said.
The South Pacific nation added one million people in the past 17 years, the fastest rate in its history, Statistics New Zealand said in an emailed statement Monday in Wellington.
The population rose by half a million since 2013, growing at an average annual rate of 1.8%, it said. “International migration played a significant role in reaching the five million milestone," population insights senior manager Brooke Theyers said in the statement. “About half of the population growth from four to five million was due to natural increase, and about half from net migration." Other countries with