Brain gain continues as migration rebounds into the black for 2022

New Zealand's net migration gain continues to recover from Covid border closures. Photo / NZME

New Zealand recorded a net migration gain of 15,800 in 2022, Stats NZ said today.

That was a big turnaround from the 15,000 net loss in 2021, but still well below pre-Covid net migration gains, which averaged 57,600 a year through 2014–2019.

Migration had been tracking back into the black for several months as borders reopened and the Government adjusted some of its immigration policies to try to cope with worker shortages.

“2022 was a year of two halves, with monthly net migration losses in the first half of the year more than offset by monthly net migration gains in the second half of the year,” population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said.

“The net migration gain in the second half of 2022 was driven by non-New Zealand citizens, following the progressive relaxation of Covid-19-related border restrictions and coinciding with changes to immigration settings.”

The provisional net migration gain of 15,800 in 2022 was made up of a net gain of 32,400 non-New Zealand citizens and a net loss of 16,600 New Zealand citizens. For the last nine months of the year there was a net gain of 34,700.

This was consistent with migration patterns before the Covid-19 pandemic, where New Zealand usually had an annual net migration gain of non-New Zealand citizens and an annual net migration loss of New Zealand citizens, StatsNZ said.

The historical pattern was reversed due to Covid-19-related travel and border restrictions, especially in 2020 and 2021, with net migration gains of New Zealand citizens and net migration losses of non-New Zealand citizens.

In the 24 months from April 2020 to March 2022, when Covid-19-related border and travel restrictions were in place, there was a net migration loss of 32,200 non-New Zealand citizens.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, non-New Zealand citizens were the main driver of migration, with net migration gains of non-New Zealand citizens averaging roughly 60,000 per year from 2014 to 2019.

In the December 2022 year, citizens of the Philippines, India, South Africa and China were the main drivers of the overall net migration gain of non-New Zealand citizens.

The annual net migration loss of 16,600 New Zealand citizens in 2022 compares with a net migration gain of 1000 in 2021.

The net migration loss of New Zealand citizens in 2022 was larger than the losses in 2014–2018, which averaged 5400 a year; but smaller than the losses in 2001–2013, which averaged 26,700 a year.

Migrants aged 18–30 years accounted for over half (9400) of the provisional net migration loss of New Zealand citizens.

This concentration of outflow in the young adult ages was not unusual, Stats NZ said.

The same age group had a net loss of 1700 in 2019 when that year had an overall net migration gain of 2900 New Zealand citizens.