NZ population ageing and growing more slowly

New Zealand's population is is getting older and is growing more slowly due to less migration, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said today.

Population growth was estimated to be 38,600 in the year to March 31, down from 56,800 in the year to March 2004.

Natural population increase -- the excess of births over deaths -- was down 200 to 28,600. The excess of long-term arrivals over long-term departures fell from 28,000 to 10,000, a SNZ statement said.

The total population was estimated to be 4,092,900 at March 31.

Though births still exceeded deaths, the figures also revealed that the number of children aged 0-14 was 880,800, a fall of 4400 or 0.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, the median age for women as at March 31 was 36.3 years, up 3.1 years on the average in March 1995. In the same decade the average for men went up 2.8 years to 34.5.

The number of children aged 0-14 grew by 4.2 per cent in the decade from March 1995. The working age population (15-64) was 2,717,800, an increase of 13.4 per cent since in the same period.

The 65-plus age group increased by 17.3 per cent in the past decade to 494,300, about 12.1 per cent of the total population, the statement said. The biggest increase in this group came from people aged 90 and over, which increased 65.5 per cent.

- NZPA