Population, total in New Zealand
New Zealand: Population, total was 5.32 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
5.32 million
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
124th
of 218 countries
All-time high
5.32 million
in 2025
All-time low
2.37 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
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 218 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.
Population, total in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.37 million | — |
| 1961 | 2.42 million | +2.0% |
| 1962 | 2.48 million | +2.6% |
| 1963 | 2.53 million | +2.0% |
| 1964 | 2.59 million | +2.1% |
| 1965 | 2.63 million | +1.7% |
| 1966 | 2.68 million | +1.8% |
| 1967 | 2.72 million | +1.8% |
| 1968 | 2.75 million | +0.9% |
| 1969 | 2.77 million | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 2.81 million | +1.4% |
| 1971 | 2.85 million | +1.5% |
| 1972 | 2.90 million | +1.8% |
| 1973 | 2.96 million | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 3.02 million | +2.1% |
| 1975 | 3.08 million | +2.0% |
| 1976 | 3.11 million | +0.9% |
| 1977 | 3.12 million | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 3.12 million | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 3.11 million | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 3.11 million | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 3.12 million | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 3.16 million | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 3.20 million | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 3.23 million | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 3.25 million | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 3.25 million | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 3.27 million | +0.9% |
| 1988 | 3.28 million | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 3.30 million | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 3.33 million | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 3.50 million | +5.0% |
| 1992 | 3.53 million | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 3.57 million | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 3.62 million | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 3.67 million | +1.5% |
| 1996 | 3.73 million | +1.6% |
| 1997 | 3.78 million | +1.3% |
| 1998 | 3.81 million | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 3.84 million | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 3.86 million | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 3.88 million | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 3.95 million | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 4.03 million | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 4.09 million | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 4.13 million | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 4.18 million | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 4.22 million | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 4.26 million | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 4.30 million | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 4.35 million | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 4.38 million | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 4.41 million | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 4.44 million | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 4.52 million | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 4.61 million | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 4.71 million | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 4.81 million | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 4.90 million | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 4.97 million | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 5.07 million | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 5.08 million | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 5.08 million | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 5.20 million | +2.3% |
| 2024 | 5.29 million | +1.7% |
| 2025 | 5.32 million | +0.7% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 5.32 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.97 million, 1.8× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 5.32 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.42 million, 3.8× the median. (37 countries reporting)
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
More climate change data for New Zealand
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 113.13 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 46,323 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 11,983 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 34,340 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 45.22 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,226 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 694.4 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 691.2 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 3.2 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 2.61 kt (2050)
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 218 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.