List of ethnic origins of New Zealanders

In the most recent New Zealand census, in 2018, 70.2 per cent of the population identified as European and 16.5 per cent as Māori. Other major pan-ethnic groups include Asians (15.1 per cent) and Pacific peoples (8.1 per cent). Middle Eastern, Latin American and African ethnicities constitute a small remainder (1.5 per cent) of the population. When completing the census people could select more than one ethnic group and this list includes all of the stated ethnic groups if more than one is chosen.[1]

New Zealand's ethnic diversity can be attributed to its history and location. For example, the country's colonisation by the UK is a core reason for its Western values and culture.

Terminology

The New Zealand census invites respondents to identify with an ethnic group.[2]

There are six major ethnic groupings:[3]

  • European New Zealanders (Pākehā) are a European ethnic group. It includes New Zealanders of European descent, European peoples (e.g. British, Irish, Dutch, German, Russian, Italian, Greek), and other peoples of indirect European descent (e.g. Americans, Canadians, Australians and South Africans,).
  • Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand.
  • Pacific peoples (Pasifika) originate from other islands in the Pacific, including from the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau, all of which are dependent states of New Zealand, as well as other places like Tuvalu, Palau, The Pitcairn Islands and Fiji.[4]
  • Asian New Zealanders are a pan-ethnic group deriving from various nations in the Asian continent, such as Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Indians, Filipinos, Vietnamese or their descendants.
  • Middle Eastern, Latin American, African (MELAA), and Caribbean ethnicities constitute a very small remainder of the population.
  • "Other" is a grouping of ethnic groups which do not fit into the other five top-level ethnic groups.

Handling multiple ethnicities

Many respondents identify with multiple ancestries.[1] Outputting data on multiple ethnicities is normally handled one of two ways: total response or prioritised ethnicity. For this list, the total response method is used.

Total response counts people of multiple ethnicities in each ethnic groups in which they identify. While this shows all the people that identify with a particular ethnicities, the sum of all ethnic group populations adds to more than the total population. For example, a person who identifies as New Zealand European and Māori would be counted twice, once under each ethnicity, under total response output.[5]

Prioritised ethnicity counts people with multiple ethnicities in the highest-priority single ethnic group in which they identify. The order of priority for ethnicity, from highest to lowest, is Māori, Pacific peoples, Asian, MELAA, other and European. While it has the advantage that the sum of all ethnic groups equals the total population, the preferential order can cause ethnic groups to be overrepresented or underrepresented, and may categorise a person differently from their self-identified primary ethnicity. For example, a person who identifies as New Zealand European and Māori would be counted under the Māori ethnic group under prioritised ethnicity output.[5]

Ethnicities

Only ethnicities with 1,000 or more responses at the 2023 census are included individually:

Code Ethnicity Ethnic group Responses
2013[6] 2018[7] 2023
11111 New Zealand European European 2,727,009 3,013,440 3,099,858
21111 Māori Māori 598,605 775,836 887,493
42100 Chinese nfd Asian 163,101 231,387 259,755
43100 Indian nfd Asian 143,520 221,916 255,261
31111 Samoan Pacific 144,138 182,721 213,069
41111 Filipino Asian 40,350 72,612 108,297
33111 Tongan Pacific 60,333 82,389 97,824
32100 Cook Islands Māori nfd Pacific 61,077 80,532 94,176
12114 English European 38,916 72,204 68,517
12948 South African European European 28,656 37,155 48,930
61118 New Zealander Other 65,973 45,330 42,684
44311 Korean Asian 30,171 35,664 38,944
34111 Niuean Pacific 23,883 30,867 34,944
12211 Dutch European 28,503 29,820 30,948
12811 Australian European 22,467 29,349 30,591
36111 Fijian Pacific 14,445 19,722 25,038
43112 Fijian Indian Asian 10,929 15,132 23,808
10000 European nfd European 26,472 34,632 21,834
12116 Irish European 14,193 17,835 21,261
12119 Scottish European 14,412 18,627 19,767
44211 Japanese Asian 14,118 18,141 19,488
12943 American European 12,339 16,245 18,606
12711 German European 12,810 16,818 17,565
52100 Latin American nfd MELAA 5,622 9,798 15,861
44111 Sinhalese Asian 1,017 9,171 14,436
41311 Vietnamese Asian 6,660 10,086 14,157
41415 Thai Asian 8,052 10,623 12,858
40000 Asian nfd Asian 4,623 11,811 12,645
12100 British nfd European 36,024 11,607 12,021
41211 Cambodian Asian 8,601 9,672 11,514
51100 Middle Eastern nfd MELAA 4,380 8,268 10,245
35111 Tokelauan Pacific 7,173 8,676 9,822
52113 Brazilian MELAA 2,868 6,663 9,216
43116 Sikh Asian 213 192 9,111
61117 Other South African Other 255 6,816 8,919
12945 Canadian European 5,871 7,797 8,910
44411 Afghani Asian 3,417 5,250 8,721
12924 French European 4,593 7,677 8,451
41000 Southeast Asian nfd Asian 1,272 6,219 8,235
42116 Taiwanese Asian 5,715 6,570 8,163
44414 Pakistani Asian 3,261 6,135 8,094
12935 Russian European 5,979 7,713 8,040
41412 Indonesian Asian 4,137 6,033 7,614
44413 Nepalese Asian 1,590 3,630 6,948
37144 Tuvaluan Pacific 3,537 4,653 6,585
12611 Italian European 3,798 5,352 6,444
53100 African nfd MELAA 6,822 7,221 6,402
12949 Afrikaner European 1,197 789 6,069
42113 Malaysian Chinese Asian 1,848 4,866 5,865
12121 Welsh European 3,708 4,971 5,724
51115 Iranian/Persian MELAA 3,198 4,425 5,613
44100 Sri Lankan nfd Asian 9,561 4,245 5,100
41414 Malaysian Asian 4,797 3,729 4,797
37124 Kiribati Pacific 2,115 3,225 4,659
44112 Sri Lankan Tamil Asian 732 3,501 4,221
43115 Punjabi Asian 324 459 4,152
52114 Chilean MELAA 1,686 2,886 4,083
12511 Croatian European 2,673 2,946 3,609
44412 Bangladeshi Asian 1,623 2,337 3,552
42111 Hong Kong Chinese Asian 222 3,177 3,501
41411 Burmese Asian 2,187 2,475 3,453
12411 Polish European 2,163 2,871 3,360
12939 Spanish European 2,043 2,773 3,162
12941 Swiss European 2,388 2,649 2,880
52111 Argentinian MELAA 726 1,824 2,826
12311 Greek European 2,478 2,475 2,823
53127 Other Zimbabwean MELAA 1,068 2,760
51117 Israeli/Jewish MELAA 1,353 1,854 2,757
51112 Arab MELAA 2,919 2,994 2,640
12999 European nec European 2,637 1,968 2,562
12920 Danish European 1,986 2,214 2,496
51116 Iraqi MELAA 2,583 2,688 2,490
53119 Somali MELAA 1,617 1,701 2,376
43119 South African Indian Asian 1,632 2,340
30000 Pacific Peoples nfd Pacific 1,026 2,724 2,271
52115 Colombian MELAA 654 1,620 2,226
41499 Southeast Asian nec Asian 723 1,638 2,223
61199 Other ethnicity nec Other 150 4,017 2,163
12942 Ukrainian European 852 1,281 2,151
53121 Ethiopian MELAA 1,242 1,635 2,151
12940 Swedish European 1,401 1,911 2,127
37140 Tahitian Pacific 1,407 1,737 2,019
52123 Mexican MELAA 711 1,425 1,965
12919 Czech European 1,083 1,740 1,953
53199 African nec MELAA 1,158 1,005 1,929
51120 Lebanese MELAA 1,044 1,278 1,878
41413 Laotian Asian 1,374 1,608 1,860
51114 Egyptian MELAA 1,110 1,533 1,854
12926 Hungarian European 1,365 1,638 1,788
51127 Turkish European 957 1,320 1,779
12932 Portuguese European 942 1,365 1,746
61113 Indigenous American Other 750 1,278 1,623
12950 Zimbabwean European European 1,617 1,872 1,497
42112 Cambodian Chinese Asian 132 1,413 1,467
12933 Romanian European 1,452 1,485 1,437
12931 Norwegian European 810 1,131 1,410
53115 Nigerian MELAA 291 636 1,365
12514 Serbian European 1,056 1,284 1,347
12913 Austrian European 1,029 1,272 1,338
37138 Rotuman Pacific 783 981 1,323
44416 Eurasian Asian 1,365 1,389 1,296
37135 Papua New Guinean Pacific 807 1,131 1,290
53118 Caribbean MELAA 807 1,047 1,284
37112 Indigenous Australian Pacific 453 795 1,161
37145 Ni Vanuatu Pacific 492 990 1,161
41417 Chin Asian 834 1,110
51113 Assyrian MELAA 1,497 1,293 1,101
53116 African American MELAA 510 855 1,083
43114 Indian Tamil Asian 300 315 1,074
99999 Not specifieda 230,646 0
  • nfd – Not Further Defined (insufficient data to classify the response further)
  • nec – Not Elsewhere Classified (when no category exists for the response)
  • a – Includes Don't Know, Refused to Answer, Response Unidentifiable, Response Outside Scope and Not Stated
  • MELAA – Middle Eastern, Latin American and African

Ethnic groups by area

By region

Ethnic groups by regional council area, 2023 census[8]
Region European Maori Pacific Asian MELAA Other
Num. % Num. % Num. % Num. % Num. % Num. %
Northland 141,594 73.0 72,612 37.4 9,486 4.9 9,345 4.8 1,263 0.7 2,208 1.1
Auckland 825,144 49.8 203,544 12.3 275,079 16.6 518,178 31.3 44,718 2.7 15,144 0.9
Waikato 357,624 71.7 125,574 25.2 26,139 5.2 60,792 12.2 7,146 1.4 5,742 1.2
Bay of Plenty 240,087 71.9 102,387 30.6 14,202 4.3 29,262 8.8 3,954 1.2 3,558 1.1
Gisborne 28,905 56.5 28,029 54.8 2,841 5.6 1,968 3.8 381 0.7 468 0.9
Hawke's Bay 128,415 73.3 50,076 28.6 10,902 6.2 11,361 6.5 1,398 0.8 2,118 1.2
Taranaki 105,366 83.6 27,411 21.8 3,234 2.6 7,215 5.7 699 0.8 1,719 1.4
Manawatu-Whanganui 196,431 78.1 63,177 25.1 12,522 5.0 19,329 7.7 1,836 1.0 3,339 1.3
Wellington 378,429 72.6 80,613 15.5 47,349 9.1 79,314 15.2 11,934 2.3 5,823 1.1
North Island 2,401,995 63.1 753,423 19.3 401,754 10.6 736,764 19.3 74,166 1.9 40,119 1.1
Tasman 52,416 90.7 5,745 9.9 1,509 2.6 2,298 4.0 435 0.8 915 1.6
Nelson 44,544 84.7 6,252 11.9 1,485 2.8 4,533 8.6 714 1.4 705 1.3
Marlborough 42,450 85.9 7,344 14.9 1,821 3.7 2,667 5.4 738 1.5 744 1.5
West Coast 29,964 89.7 4,491 13.5 540 1.6 1,335 4.0 180 0.5 723 2.2
Canterbury 522,498 80.3 69,060 10.6 23,868 3.7 86,430 13.3 10,299 1.6 8,205 1.3
Otago 205,224 85.2 23,910 9.9 8,274 3.4 20,379 8.5 5,211 2.2 3,207 1.3
Southland 84,195 84.1 16,848 16.8 3,351 3.3 7,152 7.1 1,014 1.0 1,509 1.5
South Island 981,291 82.8 133,650 10.5 40,848 3.4 124,794 10.5 18,591 1.6 16,008 1.4
New Zealand 3,383,742 67.8 887,493 19.8 442,632 8.9 861,576 17.3 92,760 1.9 56,133 1.1

In images

  • European from 2006 to 2018
  • Māori in 2018
  • Asian in 2018
  • Pacific peoples in 2018

By territorial authority and Auckland local board

Territorial authority or Auckland local board European Māori Pacific Asian
Num. % Num. % Num. % Num. %
Far North district 46,131 64.6 35,679 49.9 3,834 5.4 2,265 3.2
Whangarei district 73,776 76.3 30,351 31.4 4,398 4.5 6,153 6.4
Kaipara district 21,687 83.7 6,579 25.4 1,254 4.8 927 3.6
Auckland 825,144 49.8 203,544 12.3 275,079 16.6 518,178 31.3
Auckland – Rodney local board area 66,204 84.9 9,543 12.2 3,324 4.3 7,341 9.4
Auckland – Hibiscus and Bays local board area 86,598 75.9 8,169 7.2 2,790 2.4 23,436 20.6
Auckland – Upper Harbour local board area 37,794 49.1 4,713 6.1 2,418 3.1 34,983 45.5
Auckland – Kaipātiki local board area 49,785 56.5 8,328 9.4 5,835 6.6 30,669 34.8
Auckland – Devonport-Takapuna local board area 38,493 66.4 3,603 6.2 1,695 2.9 16,842 29.0
Auckland – Henderson-Massey local board area 54,420 43.6 22,629 18.1 27,669 22.2 39,546 31.7
Auckland – Waitākere Ranges local board area 37,737 70.0 7,452 13.8 7,104 13.2 9,405 17.4
Auckland – Aotea/Great Barrier local board area 1,122 89.7 285 22.8 27 2.2 21 1.7
Auckland – Waiheke local board area 8,061 88.0 1,125 12.3 333 3.6 417 4.6
Auckland – Waitematā local board area 48,819 59.9 6,876 8.4 4,725 5.8 25,692 31.5
Auckland – Whau local board area 30,522 37.6 8,913 11.0 16,050 19.7 34,332 42.2
Auckland – Albert-Eden local board area 56,025 58.0 8,322 8.6 8,343 8.6 31,953 33.1
Auckland – Puketāpapa local board area 18,261 32.1 3,795 6.7 8,931 15.7 28,701 50.4
Auckland – Ōrākei local board area 56,937 68.4 5,316 6.4 3,072 3.7 22,215 26.7
Auckland – Maungakiekie-Tāmaki local board area 32,973 42.2 11,013 14.1 20,190 25.9 23,370 29.9
Auckland – Howick local board area 58,503 38.1 9,717 6.3 12,339 8.0 80,565 52.5
Auckland – Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board area 14,466 18.4 13,302 16.9 47,463 60.4 15,408 19.6
Auckland – Ōtara-Papatoetoe local board area 12,678 14.6 13,749 15.8 42,381 48.7 30,792 35.4
Auckland – Manurewa local board area 24,213 24.5 24,858 25.2 39,450 39.9 27,249 27.6
Auckland – Papakura local board area 26,541 36.7 17,811 24.6 14,811 20.5 24,732 34.2
Auckland – Franklin local board area 64,986 77.0 14,019 16.6 6,129 7.3 10,509 12.5
Thames-Coromandel district 28,287 88.4 6,003 18.8 789 2.5 1,143 3.6
Hauraki district 17,829 83.6 5,139 24.1 777 3.6 969 4.5
Waikato district 63,252 73.6 23,088 26.9 4,704 5.5 7,821 9.1
Matamata-Piako district 30,903 83.3 6,888 18.6 981 2.6 2,547 6.9
Hamilton city 102,180 58.5 44,445 25.4 11,862 6.8 39,798 22.8
Waipa district 50,748 86.5 9,303 15.9 1,332 2.3 3,552 6.1
Ōtorohanga district 7,944 76.3 3,384 32.5 330 3.2 453 4.4
South Waikato district 17,271 69.0 9,585 38.3 3,378 13.5 1,248 5.0
Waitomo district 6,000 62.6 4,341 45.3 426 4.4 477 5.0
Taupo district 30,198 74.9 12,453 30.9 1,479 3.7 2,625 6.5
Western Bay of Plenty district 45,003 80.1 12,111 21.6 1,899 3.4 4,113 7.3
Tauranga city 120,345 78.7 29,562 19.3 5,430 3.6 15,726 10.3
Rotorua district 45,588 61.6 32,199 43.5 4,716 6.4 7,443 10.1
Whakatane district 23,145 62.3 18,054 48.6 1,431 3.9 1,590 4.3
Kawerau district 4,053 53.8 4,764 63.2 357 4.7 252 3.3
Ōpōtiki district 5,013 49.7 6,678 66.2 456 4.5 318 3.2
Gisborne district 28,905 56.5 28,029 54.8 2,841 5.6 1,968 3.8
Wairoa district 4,140 46.9 6,048 68.5 375 4.2 150 1.7
Hastings district 60,132 69.9 24,435 28.4 7,320 8.5 6,513 7.6
Napier city 51,096 79.0 15,651 24.2 2,724 4.2 4,224 6.5
Central Hawke's Bay district 12,987 83.9 3,903 25.2 483 3.1 456 2.9
New Plymouth district 73,092 84.0 17,358 20.0 2,199 2.5 5,727 6.6
Stratford district 9,156 90.2 1,587 15.6 177 1.7 345 3.4
South Taranaki district 23,265 80.2 8,496 29.3 861 3.0 1,152 4.0
Ruapehu district 9,009 68.8 5,979 45.7 456 3.5 474 3.6
Whanganui district 37,284 78.3 13,566 28.5 1,965 4.1 2,415 5.1
Rangitikei district 12,468 79.6 4,422 28.2 867 5.5 462 2.9
Manawatu district 28,521 88.0 5,946 18.3 897 2.8 1,089 3.4
Palmerston North city 64,239 73.8 18,042 20.7 5,169 5.9 12,498 14.4
Tararua district 15,678 84.0 5,013 26.9 495 2.7 585 3.1
Horowhenua district 29,091 79.3 10,149 27.7 2,667 7.3 1,797 4.9
Kapiti Coast district 48,438 86.6 8,826 15.8 2,097 3.8 3,468 6.2
Porirua city 35,733 60.1 13,668 23.0 15,753 26.5 6,834 11.5
Upper Hutt city 35,853 78.4 7,650 16.7 2,991 6.5 5,460 11.9
Lower Hutt city 69,168 64.3 21,072 19.6 13,125 12.2 19,977 18.6
Wellington city 146,208 72.1 19,878 9.8 11,565 5.7 41,436 20.4
Masterton district 23,163 83.7 6,267 22.6 1,260 4.6 1,413 5.1
Carterton district 9,222 91.2 1,428 14.1 234 2.3 312 3.1
South Wairarapa district 10,638 90.1 1,821 15.4 324 2.7 411 3.5
Tasman district 52,416 90.7 5,745 9.9 1,509 2.6 2,298 4.0
Nelson city 44,544 84.7 6,252 11.9 1,485 2.8 4,533 8.6
Marlborough district 42,450 85.9 7,344 14.9 1,821 3.7 2,667 5.4
Kaikoura district 3,669 87.0 801 19.0 42 1.0 165 3.9
Buller district 9,459 90.6 1,362 13.0 177 1.7 348 3.3
Grey district 12,309 90.7 1,662 11.8 192 1.4 564 4.0
Westland district 7,758 87.2 1,470 16.5 174 2.0 420 4.7
Hurunui district 12,309 90.5 1,368 10.1 177 1.3 636 4.7
Waimakariri district 61,008 92.1 6,546 9.9 1,065 1.6 2,547 3.8
Christchurch city 296,955 75.9 44,022 11.2 16,746 4.3 67,050 17.1
Selwyn district 65,682 84.1 7,050 9.0 1,869 2.4 8,877 11.4
Ashburton district 28,185 81.1 3,000 8.6 2,097 6.0 3,273 9.4
Timaru district 41,508 87.3 4,953 10.4 1,650 3.5 2,772 5.8
Mackenzie district 4,323 84.5 447 8.7 75 1.5 459 9.0
Waimate district 7,176 88.4 708 8.7 123 1.5 531 6.5
Chatham Islands territory 444 72.5 420 68.6 24 3.9 12 2.0
Waitaki district 19,941 85.0 2,241 9.5 1,293 5.5 1,626 6.9
Central Otago district 21,819 89.8 2,319 9.5 591 2.4 1,089 4.5
Queenstown-Lakes district 39,594 82.8 3,060 6.4 696 1.5 5,001 10.5
Dunedin city 109,635 85.1 13,914 10.8 5,037 3.9 11,961 9.3
Clutha district 15,912 86.9 2,538 13.9 675 3.7 828 4.5
Southland district 27,465 86.3 4,137 13.0 453 1.4 2,409 7.6
Gore district 11,040 86.9 1,953 15.4 273 2.1 504 4.0
Invercargill city 45,687 82.2 10,764 19.4 2,625 4.7 4,242 7.6
New Zealand 3,383,742 67.8 887,493 17.8 442,632 8.9 861,576 17.3

See also

Citations

  1. ^ a b "Cultural diversity". 2013 Census QuickStats about national highlights. Statistics New Zealand. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  2. ^ Rocha, Zarine L. (2015). "Mixed Race" Identities in Asia and the Pacific: Experiences from Singapore and New Zealand. Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 9781317390787. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Classifications and related statistical standards – Ethnicity". Statistics New Zealand. June 2005. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  4. ^ Fraenkel, Jon (20 June 2012). "Pacific Islands and New Zealand". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  5. ^ a b "HISO 10001:2017 Ethnicity Data Protocols" (PDF). Ministry of Health (New Zealand). September 2017.
  6. ^ "Ethnic group profiles". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  7. ^ "2018 Census totals by topic – national highlights | Stats NZ". www.stats.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Ethnicity (detailed total responses level 3), age, and gender for the census usually resident population count, (RC, TALB, SA2, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". explore.data.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 August 2025.

References

  • 2013 Census QuickStats, Statistics New Zealand, 2013, ISBN 978-0-478-40864-5
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