WELLINGTON, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's annual net migration reached a record 72,400 in the July 2017 year, the countrys statistics department Stats NZ said on Monday.
Migrant arrivals numbered 132,100, a new annual record, and migrant departures numbered 59,700 in the year ended July 2017, said a Stats NZ release.
Compared with the year ended July 2016, net migration increased by 3,400, it said.
Most migrants currently arrive in New Zealand on short-term work and student visas, said population statistics senior manager Peter Dolan, adding that it is those migrants who are here for a year or more that are included in estimates and projections of the resident population, and these are the basis for long-term planning.
In the year ended July, the high net migration was mostly driven by non-New Zealand citizens, who provided New Zealand with a net gain of 73,500 new migrants, compared with 72,100 in the July 2016 year, Stats NZ said, adding that migration of New Zealand citizens saw a net loss of 1,100 migrants, compared with the net loss of 3,100 in the July 2016 year.
Of the 33,500 departures of New Zealand citizens in the July 2017 year, 62 percent were to Australia, it said.
The biggest increases in net migration for the July 2017 year were from Britain, which was up 2,400, and South Africa, which was up 1,600, the department said, adding that the largest decrease in net migration in the July 2017 year was from India, which was down 3,900 to 7,400, due to a decrease in student migrant arrivals.
New Zealand's current gain from net migration equates to 15 people per 1,000 population, statistics show.
