Population growth hits 11-year-low

New Zealand’s population growth has stalled reaching an 11-year-low in the March 2012 quarter.

According to Statistics New Zealand the country’s estimated resident population grew by 27,700 in the March 2012 year, up 0.6 per cent from the same time in 2011.

This is the lowest population growth since March 2001, when the population increased by 21,000.

There is currently an estimated 4,430,400 million people living in New Zealand.

Population statistics manager Andrea Blackburn says the record low is caused by “a combination of fewer births, more deaths, and more people leaving New Zealand”.

During the March 2012 year, 3400 more people left the country than arrived and there were 31,100 more births than deaths.

The statistics show the population is continuing to age, with the number of people age 65 and over reaching 600,000 for the first time.

The age group rose four per cent, equalling one in seven New Zealanders.

"In the next 40 years, the number of people aged 80 years and over is expected to more than triple from 160,000 to exceed half a million,” says Andrea.

There are currently more females than males – with 97 males for every 100 females.

The median age is 37-years-old, with an average age for men of 35.6-years-old and 38.1-years-old for women.

New Zealand’s estimated resident population was 3.9million a decade ago.

For the last 10 years, the population has grown by 494,700 – approximately the population of Wellington.

The population is expected to continue growing with a projected estimate of 4.8 million by 2021.