Results from the 2006 Census show that New Zealand’s population grew faster between 2001 and 2006 than in any period between censuses in the last 30 years. In the five years to 2006, the population increased by 7.8 percent (to reach 4,027,947) compared with a rise of 3.3 percent between 1996 and 2001.

Statistics New Zealand said today that all regional council areas showed population growth or had steady populations between 2001 and 2006, except for Southland, which had a marginal decline. This contrasts with 1996–2001 when six regional council areas showed population decline. The biggest increases between 2001 and 2006 were in the Auckland (up 12.4 percent) and Canterbury (up 8.4 percent) regions.

The number of New Zealand households also increased, from 1,359,843 in March 2001 to 1,471,746 in March 2006.

Significant changes in New Zealand’s ethnic make-up included growth for Māori (up 7.4 percent since 2001 to reach 565,329) and Pacific peoples (up 14.7 percent since 2001 to reach 265,974). The Asian ethnic group had the biggest, up 48.9 percent to reach 354,552. The Asian ethnic group now represents 9.2 percent of those who stated their ethnicity.

‘New Zealander’ is published as a separate category for the first time in 2006, after previously being counted in the European category. This ethnic group totalled 429,429 (11.1 percent) in 2006. European remains the largest of the ethnic groups, totalling 2,609,592 (67.6 percent) in 2006.

Internet availability in households nearly doubled between 2001 and 2006 – from 37.4 percent to 60.5 percent and 74.2 percent of households had access to cellphones.