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https://theconversation.com/record-immigration-will-put-pressure-on-nzs-population-infrastructure-and-productivity-wheres-the-election-debate-214952>
"The concerns of various pundits and politicians earlier this year that New
Zealand might struggle to attract immigrants turned out to be premature. In
fact, the country’s population has been boosted to the extent it should be a
bigger election issue than it is.
In the 12 months to July, total permanent migrant arrivals were 208,400 –
exceeding previous levels by quite a margin. Accounting for permanent
departures, the net population gain from immigrants has been 96,200.
That breaks all previous records, and even accounts for a return to the
consistent pattern of a net loss of New Zealand citizens (39,500 in the same
period). There is every indication the country will hit an annual net gain of
100,000 people.
At this rate, inward migration will provide a net annual population gain of 2%
for 2023. Once natural increase is added (births over deaths being more than
20,000 a year), the overall rate will be around 2.3% to 2.4%. By contrast, the
OECD average is less than 0.5%.
Auckland is beginning another period of rapid population growth, reversing the
decline seen in 2021. The city’s growth accounts for around half of the
country’s total net migration gain. Combined with a natural increase of around
7,000 to 8,000, it means the city will have significant population growth, even
allowing for a net migration loss to other regions.
Some of this surge can be explained by the return to relative normal after
pandemic restrictions were lifted. But there’s a range of other factors pushing
people to New Zealand, including anti-immigrant politics and general
disenchantment in other countries.
New Zealand is seen as a desirable destination. In a recent US survey Americans
ranked New Zealand second on their list of “best countries” – ahead of the US
itself."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
