People moving to New Zealand include those arriving for the first time, and people born in New Zealand or elsewhere who are returning to this country.
An estimated 41,300 New Zealanders returned to live in New Zealand in the two years ended March 2007 quarter. This number represented 35 percent of all movers from overseas (119,600) during that period. Nearly 40 percent of these returning New Zealanders had previously lived in Australia, while nearly a third had been living in the UK.
Table 1
Movers to New Zealand by Country of Birth
By previous country of residence
March 2007 quarter |
Previous country of
residence |
Country of birth |
All movers
from overseas |
| New Zealand |
Overseas |
| |
Percent |
| Australia |
38.8 |
7.9 |
18.6 |
| Pacific |
- |
10.1 |
7.5 |
| UK |
32.2 |
27.1 |
28.9 |
| Other Europe |
7.5 |
5.8 |
6.4 |
| Asia |
6.4 |
28.8 |
21.1 |
| North America |
7.4 |
- |
4.8 |
| Other |
- |
17.0 |
12.8 |
| All countries |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Symbol: - Figure not available due to low response for the category.
Of people born overseas (78,300 or 65 percent of all movers from overseas), the most frequent source was Asian countries (29 percent), followed by the UK (27 percent). Other countries comprised 17 percent, of which South Africa was the main source.