The 2023 Census highlights New Zealand’s growing multicultural landscape, with the number of residents born overseas reaching 1.4 million
The Indian community has become the third-largest ethnic group in New Zealand, surpassing the Chinese population, according to the 2023 Census. The data revealed that 292,092 people in New Zealand identify as Indian, marking a 22% increase since the 2018 Census, rnz.co.nz reported.
This demographic shift places the Indian population behind the New Zealand European (3.1 million) and Māori (887,493) communities, while the Chinese population now ranks fourth with 279,039 people.
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England remains the largest source of foreign-born residents, followed by China and India, each contributing 2.9% of the total population
Auckland, the country’s most ethnically diverse region, remains a focal point for this change. The city has a population of 1.66 million, where 31.3% of residents identify with Asian heritage. The Indian population in Auckland has grown by 13%, from 154,824 in 2018 to 175,794 in 2023, making it the fourth-largest ethnic group in the city.
Language diversity is also expanding. Punjabi, spoken predominantly in India and Pakistan, saw the fastest growth between 2018 and 2023, with a 45.1% increase. It is now the ninth most spoken language in the country. Hindi, another widely spoken Indian language, holds the fourth spot. Tagalog, a Filipino language, and Afrikaans, spoken in South Africa, have also seen significant growth.
New Zealand’s Filipino community also experienced substantial growth, increasing by nearly 50% since 2018, bringing its total to 108,297. Half of the growth in New Zealand’s Asian ethnic group is attributed to the Indian and Filipino communities, with respective increases of 22.1% and 49.1%.
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