NZ’s Asian population estimated to grow to 600,000 by 2021

NZ’s Asian population estimated to grow to 600,000 by 2021

WELLINGTON, June 10 (Xinhua) — New Zealand’s Asian population will more than double by 2021 to 600,000, Statistics New Zealand ( SNZ) said.

According to a SNZ media release on Tuesday, by 2021, the Asian population in the country will rival Maori numbers and outstrip Pacific Island people.

New Zealand’s Pacific population is projected to reach 414,000 in 2021 and Maori 749,000.

However, Asian population growth would slow from 13 percent measured last year to 4 percent in 2007 and then 2 percent in 2021, SNZ said.

Based on these rates, the number of Asians in New Zealand would reach 604,000 by 2021 compared to 272,000 in 2001.

“The Asian population will still grow at a faster pace than the total New Zealand population because of the higher levels of migration assumed for the Asian population,” SNZ said.

“Consequently, the Asian share of the total population is projected to rise from 7 percent in 2001 to 13 percent in 2021.”

SNZ said Asian births here were expected to climb from 4600 in 2002 to 6900 in 2016, before dropping slightly to 6600 in 2021.

Land Information and Statistics Minister John Tamihere said Tuesday in a statement that New Zealand’s total population is expected to increase to 4.5 million by 2021, but the growth rate will be lower, dropping from 1.5 percent in 2002 to just 0.6 percent in 2021.

Tamihere said the new population information was valuable to the government and other sectors for meeting various challenges created by the increase.

“We must recognise the fact that New Zealand society is becoming ethnically diverse and ensure that we plan to cope with the additional pressures these changes may bring to different sectors, such as education, employment, housing and health,” he said.