How many people live in New Zealand right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
5,298,033
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Net migration | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 126 of 237
- Share of world population
- 0.06%
- Median age
- 38.0 years
- Children per woman
- 1.64
- Life expectancy
- 82.5 years
- People per km²
- 20
According to UN estimates, about 5.3 million people live in New Zealand right now. It ranks 126th out of 237 countries and territories by population, between Ireland and Costa Rica, and it is home to 0.064% of the world's population.
Every day, about 160 people are born there and about 110 die. More people arrive than leave: net migration adds about 16,400 people a year. Overall, the population grows by about 90 people a day (0.65% a year).
In 1950, about 1.9 million people lived there. Today there are 2.8 times as many. The UN expects it to peak around 2078, at about 5.9 million, and then begin to fall. By 2050 it is projected to have about 5.8 million people (9% more than today), and by 2100 about 5.8 million.
Half of its people are younger than 38 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 1.64 children each, below the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 83 years (worldwide, 74). There are 20 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of New Zealand in 2026?
- New Zealand has about 5.3 million people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 5,287,479.
- How many people are born each day in New Zealand?
- About 160 a day (58,000 a year). About 110 people die each day (39,900 a year).
- Is the population of New Zealand growing?
- Yes: it grows by 0.65% a year, or about 34,500 people.
- What will the population of New Zealand be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 5.8 million, with a peak around 2078 at about 5.9 million.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- Mauritania 5,507,605
- Slovakia 5,448,205
- Ireland 5,371,458
- Costa Rica 5,181,357
- Kuwait 5,123,459
- Panama 4,642,605
More countries in Oceania
- Australia 27,305,145
- Papua New Guinea 11,005,616
- Fiji 938,561
- Solomon Islands 864,515
- Vanuatu 344,892
- New Caledonia 298,674
- French Polynesia 283,264
- Samoa 220,922
- Guam 170,550
- Kiribati 139,061
- Micronesia 114,346
- Tonga 103,166
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.