New Zealand - People
According to the 2006 census, the New Zealand population was 4.1 million and by September 2012 this was estimated to have grown to 4.4 million people. The majority of the population is highly urbanised and 77 per cent live in the North Island. The largest city is Auckland, and 34 per cent of New Zealand’s total population live within the Auckland region alone. Between 1951 and 2012 the population of New Zealand grew at an average rate of 1.3 percent per year. Due to falling fertility rates and an ageing population the population growth rate has been slowing. In the decade ending in 2012 population growth averaged 1.2 percent per year. By the 2030s it is projected to slow to 0.6 per cent per year. The New Zealand population is projected to reach 5.4 million in 2036 and 6 million in 2061. New Zealand’s population density is relatively low, with 16 people per square kilometer. Net migration (the number of permanent and long-term migrants entering New Zealand, minus those leaving) has varied greatly over the years as a result of legislative and economic factors, both in New Zealand and overseas. In the 5 years to June 2013 the net number of migrants was 37,602. In New Zealand, as in other settler societies, understandings of 'race' and ethnicity intersect with conceptualisations of national identity in both formal and informal ways. The development of national identity within a colonial context is intricately connected with the construction of social groups and with social relations between settlers, the Native Other and various other Others.
Most of the 4 million New Zealanders are of British origin. About 15% claim descent from the indigenous Maori population, which is of Polynesian origin. Nearly 76% of the people, including a large majority of Maori, live on the North Island. In addition, 265,974 Pacific peoples live in New Zealand. During the late 1870s, natural increase permanently replaced immigration as the chief contributor to population growth and accounted for more than 75% of population growth in the 20th century. Nearly 85% of New Zealand's population lives in urban areas (with almost one-third in Auckland alone), where the service and manufacturing industries are growing rapidly.
Under the Treaty of Waitangi, the Crown has an obligation to protect the Maori language and culture. First Maori were the first inhabitants of Aotearoa/New Zealand (meaning 'Land of the Long White Cloud'). After arriving from their ancestral Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki, probably about 1000 years ago, they set up a thriving society based on the iwi (tribe), which flourished for hundreds of years.
Prior to 1840, it was mainly whalers, sealers, and missionaries who came to New Zealand. These settlers had considerable contact with Maori, especially in coastal areas. Maori and Pakeha (Europeans) traded extensively, and some Europeans lived among Maori. Before 1840, there were about 2000 Pakeha (Europeans) in New Zealand, most living in the Bay of Islands. At this time, intertribal Maori warfare was frequent, and the arrival of guns, which Maori traded from Pakeha, made it deadly. This, and the diseases brought by the Pakeha, had a terrible effect on the Maori population, and their numbers started to steeply decline.
With the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, New Zealand became a British colony. This saw a great increase in the number of British migrants coming to New Zealand. Many had their passage paid for by colonial companies. The systematic colonial settlement of New Zealand was largely based on the ideas of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who believed the colonial settlements should be modelled on the structures of British society. Many New Zealand cities and towns were established and populated in this way. These settlements were intended to be civilised and self-sufficient, with small farmers cultivating their land, and living in peace with the native people.
As more migrants arrived and more land was needed for them, land disputes with Maori increased. The ambiguity and lack of adherence to the Treaty of Waitangi saw grievances increase and skirmishes multiply. These turned into full-scale war in Northland during the mid 1840s, and in the rest of the country during the 1860s. British troops helped the New Zealand colonial forces during these conflicts, as did some Maori.
During the land wars Maori were victorious on many occasions. Incidents such as the defence of the Ohaewai Pa in Northland showed that Maori military engineering was sophisticated and often superior to Pakeha. However, the force and greater number of the colonial forces eventually saw the New Zealand Wars end in defeat for the Maori tribes. Soon afterwards, the government seized vast tracts of Maori land including prime farmland in Waikato and Taranaki. The major loss of land, combined with continued deaths from disease, saw the Maori population steeply decline, dropping to only about 40,000 by 1900.
Following the Second World War, many Maori elected to move from their tribal and rural communities to find work in the bigger centres. While some Maori attempted to bring traditional institutions into the cities - by establishing urban marae for example, urbanisation brought major change to the Maori world. Older tribal structures lost influence, and urban-based Maori became educated in western institutions. The Maori renaissance since 1970 has been a remarkable phenomenon. Major claims regarding the historical dispossession of tribal estates have been brought before the Waitangi Tribunal; the management of tribal or Maori-owned assets has been rearranged; a Maori-language education system has been established; and Maori have started major industry initiatives including fishing, aquaculture and farming. In 2001 Maori comprised approximately 15% (526,281 people) of New Zealand's population. This figure is forecast to reach 16.6% (750,000) in 2021.
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