Half New Zealand residents now aged over 37 years

Half New Zealand residents now aged over 37 years

Embargoed until 10:45am – 14 August 2012

New Zealand's population has continued to age over the last decade (2002–12) with the median age increasing from 34.8 years to 37.0 years, Statistics New Zealand said today. The median age rose both for males (from 34.0 to 35.7 years) and for females (from 35.6 to 38.2 years).

The estimated resident population of New Zealand was 4,433,100 at 30 June 2012. The population increased by 28,000 (0.6 percent) in the June year, which is less than the increase of the June 2011 year (37,400 or 0.9 percent).

A natural increase (excess of births over deaths) of 31,100 contributed to population growth in the June 2012 year, while net migration was responsible for a loss of 3,200. "The population growth was relatively slow in the June 2012 year," Population Statistics manager Andrea Blackburn said. "In fact, growth hasn't dropped to this rate since the June 2000 and 2001 years."

New Zealanders aged 65 years and over now make up 14 percent of the population, an increase of 2 percent in the last decade. Over the same period, the proportion of the population aged 85 years and over increased from 1.3 percent to 1.7 percent. Conversely, the proportion of the population aged 0–14 years decreased between the the June 2002 and 2012 years, from 22 percent to 20 percent.

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