Māori population of NZ up 2 per cent; overall growth flatlines

More babies were born to unmarried parents than married parents for the first time in 2022. Photo / NZME

The population of Māori in Aotearoa has grown by 2 per cent in the year to June 30.

Tangata whenua now make up 17.4 per cent of the country’s overall population, according to data from Statistics New Zealand.

The numbers come as part of Stats NZ’s broader population count, which reveals New Zealand’s yearly population growth rate was 0.2 per cent, owing largely to the fact the number of individuals departing the country continued to outnumber those arriving.

In the year ending September 30, there were 633 fewer live births and 3474 more deaths.

Stats NZ ascribed a 17,200 jump in the Māori population to natural increase (births minus deaths). Net migration and the fact more people identified as Māori also played a role.

The research also revealed that Aotearoa’s 892,000-strong Māori population had a younger median age than the overall population. Māori males had a median age of 25.5 and wāhine Māori had a median age of 27.6 years.

The country’s fertility rate for the entire population remained much below the population replacement ratio of 2.1 births per woman, falling slightly to 1.65 births from 1.66 the previous year.

For the first time ever, more babies were born to unmarried parents than married parents.

Of the 58,749 live births recorded, 29,508 babies - or 50.2 per cent - were born to unmarried parents.