Half of New Zealand's population aged over 35

Half of all New Zealanders are now aged 35 and older, compared with a median of 32 in 1993, according to Statistics New Zealand.

At December 31, New Zealand's resident population was estimated to be 4,038,900, according to the latest population estimates released yesterday by Statistics New Zealand.

The New Zealand population hit the four million milestone in late April last year, yet the population continues to age.

The New Zealand resident population of just over four million can be split into four "single million" groups by age.

In round terms, the youngest million New Zealanders are aged 0 to 16, one million are aged 17 to 34, another million are aged 35 to 51 and the oldest million are 52 years and over.

The estimated population growth last year remained high at 63,000 but was marginally lower than the growth of 63,700 recorded in 2002.

Both increases represent a rise of 1.6 per cent for the respective years, compared with an average annual increase of 43,400 (or 1.2 per cent) from 1991 onwards.

Fifty-five per cent of the growth last year was due to a net migration gain, with permanent and long-term arrivals exceeding departures by 34,900.

This net gain was slightly lower than the net gain of 38,200 during 2002. The remaining 45 per cent of the population growth was due to natural increase (excess of births over deaths).

The four million

* One million New Zealanders are aged 0 to 16

* One million are aged 17 to 34

* One million are aged 35 to 51

* One million are 52 years and over.

- NZPA