NZ immigrant numbers grow

New figures show that New Zealand has welcomed more than 70,000 new immigrants to its shores over the past year.

The figures show that in the year to the end of November, 70,400 people moved to NZ from overseas. However, the number of immigrants who moved to the country in November was slightly down on the previous months. The figures show that 6,200 immigrants entered the country in November – a record high for the month.

The growth was driven by a higher than usual number of New Zealanders returning from overseas – particularly Australia – and people on working holidays.

In addition to growing immigration numbers, tourist numbers are soaring too.

A record 333,500 tourists arrived in NZ last month taking the annual tally to a new high of more than 3.4 million visitors.

Kiwis themselves would also appear to be experiencing a case of wanderlust. The number of New Zealanders travelling overseas also hit a record of 2.5 million for the November year.

Article published 21st December 2016