New Zealand population growth stalls as Kiwis flee the nest

WELLINGTON

New Zealand's population growth has come to a near halt, official statistics showed on Monday, as tens of thousands of people exit a spluttering economy for pastures new.

Statistics New Zealand reported that population growth was a modest 0.1 percent in the second quarter, with the population of 5.3 million growing by a meagre 7,000.

Although New Zealand ranks highly in lists of the most desirable places in the world to live and work, in recent years the record numbers of arrivals have been matched by departures.

The kiwi, New Zealand's national bird is famously flightless, but New Zealand's people are anything but.

In the year to June, more than 130,000 people left the country, including about 45,000 to neighboring Australia alone.

Commentators have blamed slow economic growth, high living costs and a housing crisis that has made it difficult for young New Zealanders to get on the property ladder.

In a recent research paper, Gareth Kiernan, a forecaster with Wellington economics consultancy Infometrics, said Australia has become particularly attractive.

The pandemic may have created a backlog of people wanting to leave for what Kiwis call their "OE," overseas experience.

But Kiernan believes there is something more at work.

"The lure of higher incomes and more affordable living costs in Australia has been seen as a key driver of the increasing flow of people," he wrote.