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New Zealand — Population growth
Population Growth (Annual %) for New Zealand, 1961–2025.
Latest value · 2025
0.65%
Population Growth (Annual %) · annual % · -67.3% since 1961
Population growth for New Zealand was 0.65% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 64 years, from 1961 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 2.54% in 1962. The lowest was -0.39% in 1979 (about -1.7× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -1.73% per year.
New Zealand ranks 125 of 217 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 58%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 0.64%, so New Zealand sits above it. It peaked in 1962 and has fallen 74% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 68%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
0.65%
First (1961)
2.00%
Change
-67.3%
Highest
2.54%
in 1962
Lowest
-0.39%
in 1979
Average
1.19%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-1.73%
Years of data
64
Recent years
| Year | annual % |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.65% |
| 2024 | 1.72% |
| 2023 | 2.3% |
| 2022 | -0.06% |
| 2021 | 0.24% |
| 2020 | 2.03% |
| 2019 | 1.41% |
| 2018 | 1.79% |
| 2017 | 2.09% |
| 2016 | 2.25% |
| 2015 | 2.04% |
| 2014 | 1.66% |
Reading this correctly. Annual population growth rate. A negative value means the population shrank, usually through emigration or low birth rates. Figures are in annual %. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SP.POP.GROW — Population Growth (Annual %). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.