Net migration out of New Zealand to Australia increases twofold in 2023.
Despite the increase in net migration loss in 2023 compared to the previous year, which was 14,600, it still remained significantly lower than the record loss of 43,700 in 2012.
New Zealand’s net migration loss to Australia decreased to 27,000 in 2023.
Additionally, a historical context by Tehseen Islam, a population indicators manager at Stats NZ, mentioned that the annual record for migrant departures to Australia was 62,800 in June 2012.
Over the years, there has been a consistent outflow of people from New Zealand to Australia, with averages of 30,000 people per year between 2004 and 2013, and 3,000 people per year between 2014 and 2019.
Moreover, Australia remains the primary destination for New Zealand migrants.
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Around 53 percent of the country’s 69,900 migrant departures in 2023 were to Australia.
Notably, this percentage was lower than the 2012 record of 77 percent.
New Migration Patterns
There has been an increasing trend of overseas-born New Zealand citizens migrating to Australia since the 2000s.
In 2023, 36 percent of those migrating to Australia were born outside New Zealand, compared to 33 percent before the COVID-19 pandemic and 22 percent between 2004 and 2011.
By comparison, only 27.4 percent of New Zealand’s population was born overseas in 2018.
Younger New Zealanders, particularly those between 20 and 39 years old, accounted for 52 percent of migrants in 2023, compared to 38 percent in 2018.
Record Migration Gain from Other Nations
Despite the significant migration loss to Australia, New Zealand experienced a record increase in migration from other parts of the world in 2023.
Stats NZ reported a provisional net migration gain of 155,800 to New Zealand from the rest of the world (excluding Australia) last year.
This figure was significantly higher than the average rate of 46,100 between 2004 and 2019.
After subtracting the net migration loss to Australia, New Zealand gained 128,800 migrants in 2023.
Stats NZ identified various reasons for this migration change, including economic and labor market conditions relative to other parts of the world.
