New Zealand's economic growth has seen a huge increase in the number of citizens leaving the country

 

 

New Zealanders are leaving the country at their highest rate in 13 years, as unemployment has risen and economic growth has slowed. The most people leaving the country are those under 30. The data was released by Statistics New Zealand. 71,800 New Zealanders left the country in the year to June 2025. It was 67,500 in the previous 12 months.

The number of foreign nationals coming to New Zealand has halved since 2024. The country is going through its worst economic downturn since 1991. Experts say this is due to low productivity and policy mistakes. Unemployment rose to a five-year high of 5.2 percent in the second quarter, data from last week showed. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has cut interest rates by 225 basis points since August 2024 to help the economy recover from its slump last year. The economy has shown signs of improvement, with gross domestic product growing by 0.8% in the first quarter. 38% of those leaving the country are between the ages of 18 and 30. In 1979, this was 60%.