Population, total in New Zealand
New Zealand: Population, total was 5.32 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population, total in New Zealand, 1960–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 5.32 million for population, total in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and up 15.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population, total in New Zealand peaked at 5.32 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.37 million, in 1960.
That places New Zealand 124th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.59 million | 2.37 million | 2.77 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.01 million | 2.81 million | 3.12 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.22 million | 3.11 million | 3.30 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.64 million | 3.33 million | 3.84 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.09 million | 3.86 million | 4.30 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.61 million | 4.35 million | 4.97 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.18 million | 5.07 million | 5.32 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 122 Slovakia 5.41 million compare
- 123 Palestine 5.41 million compare
- 125 Mauritania 5.32 million compare
- 126 Costa Rica 5.15 million compare
- 127 Kuwait 4.87 million compare
More climate change data for New Zealand
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.1% (2100)
- Population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Urban population 4.47 million (2025)
- Urban population 84.0% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 6.23 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 2.01 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 6.23 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 6.23 tonnes per person (2024)
- Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population 0.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population, total in New Zealand?
- Population, total in New Zealand was 5.32 million in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population, total recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 5.32 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest population, total recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.37 million in 1960.
- How does New Zealand rank for population, total?
- New Zealand ranks 124th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population, total rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Population, total. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.