Table 1 (Statistics NZ, n.d.) outlines the figures compiled by Statistics NZ for the NZ resident population as of December 2019. At that time, the total population was 4.95 million, subsequently crossing the 5 million marks in March 2020. The median age of the population is 37.5 years with a slight preponderance of females. Life expectancy for males is 80 years, with females living an additional 3.5 years longer.

Table 1: NZ population as of December 2019 by gender and sex ratio (Statistics NZ, n.d.)

	Year ended December 2019
Estimated resident population, as of 31 December	4,951,500
Males	2,437,700
Females	2,513,800
Median age (years)	37.5
Sex ratio (males per 100 females)	97

 Tables 2 and 3 (Statistics NZ, 2021) outline the age structure of the population from the most recent 2018 census and shows that 19.5% of the total population is aged under 15 years and 15.5% aged 65 years and older. The Pacific population in NZ has a much younger age structure, with a median age of 22.1 years and only 5.2% of the Pacific population aged 65 years or older. The Pacific population is increasing at a faster rate with an annual growth of 5.2% three times that of the population as a whole.

Table 2: Age bands, annual growth, and median age of the total NZ population and Pacific population at census 2018 (Statistics NZ, 2021)

	NZ Population		European		Maori		Pacific
Total (% of total population)	4,699,755		3,297,864	70.2%	775,836	16.5%	381,642	8.2%
Annual growth (2013-2018)		1.7%						5.2%
Median age (years)		37.3		41.4		25.4		23.4

Table 3

Age band	NZ population		European		Maori		Pacific
	Number	% of NZ population	Number	% of Europeans	Number	% of Maori	Number	% of Pacific
Under 15	923,403	19.5%	621,552	18.8%	248,784	32.1%	128,154	22.6%
15-64	3,061,185	65%	2.063,163	62.6%	478,800	61.7%	233,256	72.1%
65+	715,167	15.5%	613,149	18.6%	48,252	6.2%	20,232	5.3%

References:

Statistics NZ. (2021). National ethnic population projections: 2018(base)-2043. New Zealand Government Website. Available from: https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/national-ethnic-population-projections-2018base-2043.

Statistics NZ. (n.d.). Population. New Zealand Government Website. Available from: https://www.stats.govt.nz/topics/population.