People of New Zealand

Name of the People: noun: New Zealander(s); adjective: New Zealand. Kiwi is a term that can technically can be used to refer to any New Zealander but is usually not used to refer to Maori.

Ethnic Groups: European 64.1 percent, Maori 16.5 percent, Chinese 4.9 percent, Indian 4.7 percent, Samoan 3.9 percent, Tongan 1.8 percent, Cook Islands Maori 1.7 percent, English 1.5 percent, Filipino 1.5 percent, New Zealander 1 percent, other 13.7 percent (2018 estimate). note: based on the 2018 census of the usually resident population; percentages add up to more than 100 percent because respondents were able to identify more than one ethnic group. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

The majority of New Zealanders are Protestant, belonging mostly to liberal, mainstream denominations: Anglican (Episcopalian), Presbyterian and Methodists. Many of the Catholics in New Zealand are of Irish descent.

Religions: Christian 37.3 percent (Catholic 10.1 percent, Anglican 6.8 percent, Presbyterian and Congregational 5.2 percent, Pentecostal 1.8 percent, Methodist 1.6 percent, Church of Jesus Christ 1.2 percent, other 10.7 percent), Hindu 2.7 percent, Maori 1.3 percent, Muslim, 1.3 percent, Buddhist 1.1 percent, other religion 1.6 percent (includes Judaism, Spiritualism and New Age religions, Baha'i, Asian religions other than Buddhism), no religion 48.6 percent, objected to answering 6.7 percent (2018 estimate). note: based on the 2018 census of the usually resident population; percentages add up to more than 100 percent because respondents were able to identify more than one religion. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Population of New Zealand

Population: 5,109,702 (2023 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 125. In the 1990s the population was 3.6 million. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Population Growth: 1.06 percent (2023 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 88; Birth rate: 12.69 births/1,000 population (2023 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 140; Death rate: 6.89 deaths per 1,000 population (2023 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 124; Net migration rate: 4.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 21. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Population Distribution: over three-quarters of New Zealanders, including the indigenous Maori, live on the North Island, primarily in urban areas. [More than half of the North Islanders live in the Auckland area. Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Population density: 50 people per square mile (compared to 4 people per square mile in Mongolia, 72 in the United States, and 1,188 in South Korea).

Demography of New Zealand

Age Structure: 0-14 years: 19.15 percent (male 503,190/female 475,527); 15-64 years: 64.36 percent (male 1,661,312/female 1,627,304); 65 years and over: 16.49 percent (2023 estimate) (male 394,339/female 448,030). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Dependency Ratios: total dependency ratio: 53.4; youth dependency ratio: 29; elderly dependency ratio: 24.4; potential support ratio: 4.1 (2021 estimate). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Median Age: total: 37.2 years; male: 36.4 years; female: 37.9 years (2020 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 72. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Urbanization: urban population: 87 percent of total population (2023); rate of urbanization: 0.92 percent annual rate of change (2020-25 estimate); Major Urban Areas (population): 1.673 million Auckland, 422,000 WELLINGTON (capital) (2023)

Fertility, Birth Control and Sex

Total Fertility Rate: 1.86 children born per woman (2023 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 135; Gross reproduction rate: 0.9 (2023 estimate). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Contraceptive Use: 79.9 percent (2014/15). note: percent of women aged 16-49. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Mother’s Mean Age at First Birth: .27.8 years

Married Women (ages 15-49): 57.6 percent (2023 estimate). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Sex Ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female; 0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female; 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female; 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female; total population: 1 male(s)/female (2023 estimate). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Languages of New Zealand

Languages: English (de facto official) 95.4 percent, Maori (de jure official) 4 percent, Samoan 2.2 percent, Northern Chinese 2 percent, Hindi 1.5 percent, French 1.2 percent, Yue 1.1 percent, New Zealand Sign Language (de jure official) 0.5 percent, other or not stated 17.2 percent (2018 estimate). note: shares sum to 124.1 percent due to multiple responses on the 2018 census. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

New Zealander say "Gidday mate" and "good on ya" like Australians. Some unique New Zealand expressions include "cow cocky" (a dairy farmer) and "grizzle" (complain). The traditional Maori greeting is "Kia ora."

A New Zealand journalist, Dr. Harold Williams (1876-1928), could speak 58 languages and many dialects fluently according to the Guinness Book of Records.

New Zealand Expressions

Agro — angry
Barbie — barbecue
Bathing Costume — swimsuit
Bewdy — good, the best
Bloke — man
Bonzer — great, terrific
Brolly: — umbrella
Chock-a- block — crowded

Dag — jerk, derved from the slang word for a ball fleece imbedded sheep feces
Fair dinkum — honest genuine
Fossicking — search for something
Full on — extreme, over-the-top

G'day — Hello
Jackeroo — male worker at a sheep or cattle station
Jillaroo — female worker at a cattle station
Jumpbuck — sheep
Jumper — sweater

Marmite — the national food made from beer waste
Mate — friend
Nickers — underwear
Ocker — down-to-earth Aussie
Pom — an English person
Root — sexual intercourse
Sandshoes — sneakers

Sheila — woman
Shout — buy a round of drink
Ta — thank you
Tinnie — can of beer
Togs — bathing suit
Tucker — food
Uni — university
Wee—very as in wee small
Yarn — story

Character and Personality of New Zealanders

New Zealanders have been described as warm, relaxed, unpretentious, rugged, earthy, quietly modest, independent, mellow, hospitable, generous, friendly, subtly racist and opinionated. They are known for having a "can do" spirit, a strong sense of propriety, a self-deprecating sense of humor and a clean, wholesome, green way of looking at life.

New Zealanders are regarded as more conservative than Australians. They have reputation for going to bed early and walking up early (partly so they can enjoy sports and recreational activities) and living life at a pace that is a little slower and less intense than in the United States.

Many New Zealanders are very quiet. Some speak so softly it is hard to hear them. They often look down on people who are loud and boisterous.

New Zealanders are famous for going out of their way to help other people. They are patient and understanding and many foreign visitors return home with stories of being helped in some way by New Zealanders.

Commenting on Kiwi modesty and self-deprecation, Paul Theroux wrote in “The Happy Isles of Oceania”, New Zealanders "seemed to be the hardest people in the world to complement. There was something Calvinist in their refusal to accept praise, but it was so persistent it was almost as though in their stubborn humility they were fishing for compliments... You spoke about their well-maintained cities they said they were actually disorderly. Tell them their mountains are high and snowy and they retorted that yours were higher and snowier."

Health of New Zealanders

Life Expectancy at Birth: total population: 82.74 years; male: 80.98 years; female: 84.58 years (2023 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: population 24. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Infant Mortality Rate: total: 3.39 deaths per 1,000 live births; male: 3.58 deaths per 1,000 live births; female: 3.18 deaths per 1,000 live births (2023 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 198. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Maternal Mortality Ratio: 7 deaths per 100,000 live births (2020 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 156. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Obesity (prevalence rate among adults): 30.8 percent (2016); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 22. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita: total: 9.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 estimate); beer: 3.41 liters of pure alcohol (2019 estimate); wine: 2.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 estimate); spirits: 1.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 estimate); other alcohols: 1.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 32. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Percentage of Population That Uses Tobacco: total: 13.7 percent (2020 estimate); male: 15 percent (2020 estimate); female: 12.3 percent (2020 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 111. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: New Zealand Tourism Board, New Zealand Herald, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Reuters, Associated Press, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN and various books and other publications.

Last updated March 2023