Stats NZ released their latest subnational population estimates, providing us with an annual glimpse into how New Zealand’s population is growing around the country. In this article, we highlight the overall trends of the 2024 estimates and pull out interesting results from specific cities or districts. Read

The challenges of structural ageing and population decline are set to shine through again with subnational population estimates due next month. This article explores previous periods of population decline – looking at how effective migration is at holding back decline, how we should plan for decline, and what has happened to areas which have experienced population decline in our history. Read

In this article Nick Brunsdon explores the topic of population loyalty, by looking at Stats NZ’s Administrative Population Census (APC) data on usual residence one and five years ago. Read

Economics consulting firm Infometrics is pleased to announce that Nick Brunsdon, Principal Economist and Lead Demographer, has been appointed to our board of directors. Read

Migration is a persistently hot topic and tends to dominate discussion around trends in population growth, taking the limelight away from the other components of population change. However, New Zealand’s fertility rate recently reached a record low, so this article explores trends in fertility and what’s driving it. Read

Last week Stats NZ released the first tranche of data from the 2023 Census, an exciting milestone for anyone with a thirst for regional or socioeconomic data. With the prior Census held in 2018, this represents the first Census data since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we dive into the first tranche of data, explain why the good stuff is yet to come, and raise a note of caution for population comparisons with the first tranche of data. Read

Migration is a lot like rain. When we receive a lot of migration (or rain), having prepared and invested for it, and directed it into the most needed areas, it can make us all better off. Conversely, receiving more migration (or rain) than we are ready for, in the wrong places, can make things worse. Knowing it could rain but never buying a raincoat seems to be an unfortunately good analogy for how we currently seem to approach migration. Read

Migration has become a hot topic over the last year, with a record high net migration gain. This large inflow of people into New Zealand has seen the population increase by 145,000 people once births and deaths are accounted for – slightly more than adding an additional Dunedin over the last year. Read

Infometrics has recently added a new section to our Regional Economic Profile which explores the Pacific Peoples population and their role in regional labour markets. This article outlines the growing significance of New Zealand’s Pacific Peoples population in the context of broader demographic shifts. Read

Last week Stats NZ published the latest subnational population estimates – an exciting time for those of us with a regional demographic focus. In theory, these annual population estimates should be boring – population should follow a fairly stable and predictable trend. However, our economic and demographic environment continues to be anything but boring. This article explores how New Zealand’s population growth has changed over the past year, before diving into the surprises of the subnational population estimates. Read