Half of the more than 70,000 New Zealand citizens who left the country for the long term over the past year were headed to Australia, Stats NZ says.

New Zealand’s annual net migration hit a record 118,800 in the year to September 2023, driven by the arrival of more than 163,000 non-citizens.

However, New Zealanders were also leaving the country in droves, provisional data for the period shows.

There was a record net migration loss of 44,700 citizens, made up of 26,400 migrant arrivals and 71,200 migrant departures.

Stats NZ population indications manager Tehseen Islam said migrant departures of New Zealand citizens were just under record levels, and just over half of those leaving went to Australia.

The previous record net migration loss of New Zealand citizens was 44,400 in the February 2012 year.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, New Zealand usually had an annual net migration loss of New Zealand citizens.

The overall net migration gain of 118,800 was driven by a record net migration gain of 163,600 non-New Zealand citizens, mainly from India, the Philippines, China, Fiji, and South Africa.

That followed the relaxation of Covid-19-related border restrictions from early 2022, and changes to immigration settings.

Prior to the pandemic, non-New Zealand citizens were the main driver of New Zealand’s annual net migration gains, with recent September years (2015–2019) averaging net gains of 61,300 non-New Zealand citizens a year.

Of the non-New Zealand citizens arriving in New Zealand in the year to September, 67% (142,100) were aged 18 to 44.

Meanwhile, 39% (27,800) of the 71,200 New Zealand citizens leaving the country were aged 18 to 30.

Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/133295991/migration-hits-record-levels-but-kiwis-still-leaving-in-droves