New Zealand's population has risen to its highest level since 1946

Bloomberg – New Zealand has recorded its biggest annual population increase since the end of World War II, underscoring the need for registered immigration and the potential impact of inflation.

An estimate of The population is projected to increase by 2.8% in 2023, the statistics said on Friday in Wellington, New Zealand. This is the fastest rate in modern records dating back to 1992, and the highest rate since 1946, according to the previous, discontinued data series. The population increased to 5,305,600 people.

Registered immigration is a major driver of population growth. Foreign workers have flooded into the country to fill labor shortages after its borders reopened in 2022 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

145,100 gain in 2023 reflected a Net immigration was 126,000 and occurred despite a natural increase of 19,200The lowest in a calendar year since the modern data series began.

The RBI said at the end of last year The impact of population growth on demand for rental housing and accommodation was a concern Because inflation will make it difficult to return to its target of 1-3%.

The central bank said earlier on Friday that more work needed to be done to rein in core inflation and anchor inflation expectations, which did not signal a shift toward interest rate cuts in the near future.

In signs that the pace of immigration may have peaked, a report this week showed that net arrivals in December fell to a 17-month low.

Fourth quarter population growth moderated to 25,700, according to today's report. That was the lowest since the third quarter of 2022 and down from a record increase of 43,100 in the three months to March.

read more Bloomberg.com