14 August 2018
New Zealand’s population is growing in most age groups, with the latest estimates showing more women than men are aged
over 30, Stats NZ said today.
In contrast, men outnumber women at all ages under 30 years.
The balance of males to females ranges from 14,600 more males than females in the 20–24-year age group, to 14,000 more
females than males at ages 45–49.
“The age-sex distribution is a result of a combination of drivers,” population insights senior manager Brooke Theyers
said. “These include international migration trends, sex ratios at birth, women generally living longer than men, and
New Zealand’s ageing population.”
Younger age groups have more males – typically 105 males are born for every 100 females in New Zealand. Additionally,
recent trends show that greater proportions of young males on work or student visas have migrated to New Zealand than
any other demographic group.
The middle-age and older age groups have more females, as females generally live longer than males. The growing size of
New Zealand’s older age groups is contributing to this ratio. People aged 65 years and older now make up 15 percent of
the population compared with 12 percent 20 years ago.
The growing median-age gap
The gap between the median ages of males and females is growing wider, to more than two-and-a-half years, compared with
just over one year a decade ago.
The median age (half are younger, and half older, than this age) of males and females in 2018 were 35.6 years and 38.2
years, respectively.
Despite the growing gap, the median age of both sexes has increased in the last 20 years, by 3.8 years for women and 2.7
for men. However, the median age for both men and women has dropped back slightly from 2014.
The estimates presented in this release are based on 2013 Census results and estimated population change since then.
Revised population estimates will be released in mid-2019 after 2018 Census results are available.
The Government Statistician authorises all statistics and data we publish.
For more information about these statistics:
• See CSV files for download
ends