New Zealand: population and ages

In mid-1950 there were 1.91 million people, so the population is now 2.8 times as large.

The UN projects 58,000 births and 39,900 deaths in 2026, 18,100 more births than deaths.

The UN projects the first year with more deaths than births in 2047.

More people move in than leave: net migration in 2026 is projected at plus 16,400.

The median age is 38.0, which is 6.9 years above the world’s 31.1.

18% of the people are under 15 and 18% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).

People aged 65 and over have outnumbered children under 15 since 2026.

Women have 1.6 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 3.6 in 1950.

Life expectancy at birth is 82.5 years, above the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 69.3.

For mid-2050 the UN projects 5.76 million people, 8.8% more than now, with a median age of 42.7.

By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 82.1 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 21.8 more years for women and 19.7 for men.

On 1 January 2026, there are 27.7 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 39.3.

For 2100 the UN projects a population of 5.81 million, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 1.82 million to 14.2 million.

Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.

In mid-2024, 1.47 million international migrants lived here, 28.2% of the population.

In mid-2024, 680,000 people from here lived in other countries.