Business School

Demographics

Facts about New Zealand’s Māori and Pacific population with links to external website resources.

Māori demographics

In 2009, the population of Māori in New Zealand was estimated to be at 652,900. Between 1991 and 2006 the population rose by 30% and is still increasing. (Retrieved from the Statistics New Zealand website: 2009 Māori Population Estimates).

The number of Māori with a Bachelors degree or higher qualification is steadily rising, with the proportion increasing from 2.7% in 1999 to 7.5% in 2009. (Source: Ministry of Education Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis and Reporting, Profiles and Trends 2009: New Zealand's Tertiary Education Sector).

Visit the Statistics New Zealand website: 2009 Māori Population Estimates

Pacific demographics

According to the 2006 Census, there were 266,000 Pacific people in New Zealand, making up 6.9 percent of the population. (Retrieved from the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs website: About Pacific Peoples in New Zealand).

The Pacific population in New Zealand is still rising. In twenty years, Pacific people will represent thirty percent of new job applicants in Auckland, and by 2050 will be one of the biggest consumer and voting groups in Auckland. (Retrieved from the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs website: About Pacific Peoples in New Zealand).

Together it is predicted that the economies of the Pacific Islands will grow by 2.3% in 2010, a rise from 1% in 2009. Currently, developments in information and communication technology (cable, satellite, and wireless technology) are generating new sources of economic growth that will help lessen the effects of the islands isolation. (Retrieved from the UNESCAP website: Economic and social survey of Asia and the Pacific 2010 - sustaining recovery and dynamism for inclusive development).

The number of Pacific people with a Bachelors degree or higher qualification is steadily rising, with the proportion increasing from 3.5% in 1999 to 5.9% in 2009. (Source: Ministry of Education Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis and Reporting, Profiles and Trends 2009: New Zealand's Tertiary Education Sector).

Tertiary education enrolments by under 25-year-olds at diploma level or above have risen more strongly for Pacific students than for all students: Between 2002 and 2008, under-25-year-old Pacific students studying at diploma level or above increased by 2% compared with 1.3% for non-Pacific. (Retrieved from the Statistics New Zealand website: Education and Pacific Peoples in New Zealand).