World Factbook
New Zealand
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
English (de facto official) 95.4%, Maori (de jure official) 4%, Samoan 2.2%, Northern Chinese 2%, Hindi 1.5%, French 1.2%, Yue 1.1%, New Zealand Sign Language (de jure official) 0.5%, other or not stated 17.2% (2018 est.)
note: shares sum to 124.1% due to multiple responses on the 2018 census
Religions
Christian 37.3% (Catholic 10.1%, Anglican 6.8%, Presbyterian and Congregational 5.2%, Pentecostal 1.8%, Methodist 1.6%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.2%, other 10.7%), Hindu 2.7%, Maori 1.3%, Muslim, 1.3%, Buddhist 1.1%, other religion 1.6% (includes Judaism, Spiritualism and New Age religions, Baha'i, Asian religions other than Buddhism), no religion 48.6%, objected to answering 6.7% (2018 est.)
note: based on the 2018 census of the usually resident population; percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to identify more than one religion
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.02 male(s)/female
total population
1 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.88 male(s)/female
Birth rate
12.4 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6.93 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
37.2 years
total
38.1 years (2025 est.)
female
38.6 years
Population
male
2,584,607
total
5,161,211 (2024 est.)
female
2,576,604
Nationality
noun
New Zealander(s)
adjective
New Zealand
Tobacco use
male
11.2% (2025 est.)
total
10% (2025 est.)
female
8.9% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
87% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
19% (male 503,120/female 475,490)
15-64 years
64.2% (male 1,674,407/female 1,638,276)
65 years and over
16.9% (2024 est.) (male 407,080/female 462,838)
Ethnic groups
European 64.1%, Maori 16.5%, Chinese 4.9%, Indian 4.7%, Samoan 3.9%, Tongan 1.8%, Cook Islands Maori 1.7%, English 1.5%, Filipino 1.5%, New Zealander 1%, other 13.7% (2018 est.)
note: based on the 2018 census of the usually resident population; percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to identify more than one ethnic group
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
55.8 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
29.5 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
3.8 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
26.3 (2024 est.)
Physician density
3.61 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
10% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
19.8% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
2.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
2.7 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.84 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
5.3% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
12.7% national budget (2023 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
3.5 deaths/1,000 live births
total
3.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
3.1 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.83% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.9 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
over three quarters of New Zealanders, including the Maori, live on the North Island, primarily in urban areas
Life expectancy at birth
male
81.2 years
female
84.8 years
total population
82.9 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
7 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
3.41 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
2.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
9.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
1.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
1.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.673 million Auckland, 422,000 WELLINGTON (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
30.8% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
27.8 years
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
57.7% (2018 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
19 years (2023 est.)
total
19 years (2023 est.)
female
20 years (2023 est.)