Stand by, we're in the 4m club

By THERESA GARNER

New Zealand passes a milestone today.

At 5.30pm, when the population reaches the 4 million mark, the country will join a diverse group of nations ranging from the world's poorest to some of its richest.

In most cases, the population figure is all that New Zealand has in common with the group, which includes many countries ravaged by ethnic and religious conflict.

Battle-scarred Eritrea (pop. 4,362,254), for instance, is a name synonymous with war and known in New Zealand for little other than famine and fighting with neighbouring Ethiopia.

The average Eritrean has an annual income of NZ$300.

At the opposite end of the economic spectrum, high-tech and high-rise Singapore (4,608,595) is a thriving city-state with the world's busiest port.

Smaller than Mt Cook National Park, Singapore is dwarfed by another club member, Turkmenistan (4,775,544), an underdeveloped country believed to be sitting on a goldmine of hydrocarbon and natural gas reserves.

Ireland (3,924,140), on the cusp of the group, was responsible for New Zealand's early population growth.

This country has scenery in common with Norway (4,546,123), a beautiful land of mountains, fjords and glaciers.

However, few of our environment concerns are shared by a nation that defies a ban on commercial whaling.

Rich from oil, Norway worries about when its reserves will run out.

Moldova (4,439,502), a former Soviet republic, is one of the poorest countries in Europe, while the beaches in Croatia (4,422,248) are a favoured spot for Kiwi travellers.

Neighbouring Bosnia/Herzegovina (3,989,018) has been devastated by civil war.

It has taken New Zealand nearly 30 years to reach the 4 million milestone, after passing 3 million in 1973.

The country may never join the 5 Million Club - members include Denmark, Jordan, Papua New Guinea and Libya - as the population is expected to peak at 4.81 million in 2046.

Nor will all of those stay home. About 300,000 New Zealanders already live in Australia, and a further 15,000 are scattered throughout Asia.

But at least New Zealanders are faring better than the flightless bird they are named after - a paltry 70,000 kiwi remain, compared with 5 million in 1923.

* The 5.30pm time is considered to be the milestone as New Zealand's population is estimated to increase by one person every 6 minutes and 48 seconds, with one birth every 9m 34s, a death every 20m 46s, and a net migration gain of one resident every 11m 1s.

Population Counter
Continuously updated by Statistics New Zealand