New Zealand recorded its best quarterly population growth in almost three years as the removal of pandemic-era border restrictions brought a net inflow of migrants.
(Bloomberg) — New Zealand recorded its best quarterly population growth in almost three years as the removal of pandemic-era border restrictions brought a net inflow of migrants.
The estimated population increased by 21,600 or 0.4% in the three months through December, Statistics New Zealand said Monday in Wellington. That’s the biggest gain since the first quarter of 2020, and lifts the population to 5,151,600.
The quarterly inflow is approaching the average pace of growth in the five years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, adding to signs the tightness in New Zealand’s labor market may gradually dissipate.
The nation closed its border to most foreigners from March 2020 and only fully reopened in late 2022. A lack of migrant workers fanned wage inflation and forced the central bank to respond with aggressive interest-rate increases.
New Zealand added 16,300 migrants in the quarter — also the most since early 2020 — while the population’s natural increase was 5,300.
The population climbed by 35,200 or 0.7% in 2022 compared with just a 12,700 gain in 2021.
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