PEOPLE LEAVING NEW ZEALAND HIT RECORD LEVELS IN 12 MONTHS THROUGH NOVEMBER
People leaving New Zealand hit a record high in the 12 months through November, 2024, a sign of the country’s weakening economy, which fell into a technical recession in the third quarter. A total of 127,800 people left the Pacific nation, up 28% on the prior 12-month period, according to data released by Statistics New Zealand. This is provisionally the highest number of people leaving in an annual period ever, according to the statistics bureau.
Of those leaving, more than 50% were New Zealand citizens, according to the data. New Zealand, with a population of just 5.3 million, has seen its economy struggle over the last couple of years as the central bank increased the official cash rate to dampen historically high inflation. Many people come to New Zealand for work opportunities, but when these dry up, they leave, said Michael Gordon, senior economist at Westpac.
“The economy is still running reasonably strongly in Australia, so we are seeing quite high outflows of Kiwis,” Gordon said. However, people leaving is offset by inward migration, with net migration, the number of people moving to New Zealand permanently minus those leaving, standing at 30,600 in the 12 months through November 2024. Net migration peaked in the 12 months ended October 30, 2023, at 135,700. Gordon noted that over the longer term, net migration will support the country’s economy.
