New Zealanders, also known colloquially as Kiwis, are the citizens, residents, and individuals associated with the country of New Zealand, sharing a common history, culture, and language (New Zealand English). People of various ethnicities and national origins are citizens of New Zealand, governed by its nationality law.
Originally composed solely of the indigenous Māori, the ethnic makeup of the population has been dominated since the 19th century by New Zealanders of European descent, mainly of English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish ancestry, with smaller percentages of other European and Middle Eastern ancestries such as Greek, Turkish, Italian and other groups such as Arab, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, South Slavic and Jewish, with Western European groups predominating. Today, the ethnic makeup of the New Zealand population is undergoing a process of change, with new waves of immigration, higher birth rates and increasing interracial marriage resulting in the New Zealand population of Māori, Asian, Pasifika and multiracial descent growing at a higher rate than those of solely European descent, with such groups projected to make up a larger proportion of the population in the future. New Zealand has an estimated resident population of around Over one million New Zealanders recorded in the 2013 New Zealand census were born overseas, and by 2021 over a quarter of New Zealanders are estimated to be foreign born. Rapidly increasing ethnic groups vary from being well-established, such as Indians and Chinese, to nascent ones such as African New Zealanders.
While most New Zealanders are resident in New Zealand, there is also a significant diaspora, estimated at around 750,000. Of these, about 640,800 lived in Australia (), which was equivalent to of the resident population of New Zealand. Other communities of New Zealanders abroad are heavily concentrated in other English-speaking countries, specifically the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, with smaller numbers located elsewhere. New Zealanders have had a cultural influence on a global scale, through film, language, te ao Māori, art, science, music and technology, and founded the modern women's suffrage and anti-nuclear movements. Technological and scientific achievements of New Zealanders stem back to the earliest Polynesian navigators, who used sophisticated astral methods. Modern trench warfare is often argued to have originated in New Zealand among Māori in the 19th century. New Zealanders also pioneered nuclear physics (Ernest Rutherford), the women's suffrage movement (Kate Sheppard), modern Western conceptions of gender identity (John Money) and plastic surgery (Harold Gillies).
New Zealand culture is a predominantly Western culture, influenced by the unique environment and geographic isolation of the islands, and the cultural input of the Māori and the various waves of multiethnic migration which followed the British colonisation of New Zealand. A colloquial name for a New Zealander is a Kiwi ().
Etymology Originally 'New Zealander' was a term exclusively used for indigenous Māori; Europeans referred to themselves as British or by their respective home country. In the late 19th century the term began to be used in reference to ethnically European residents of New Zealand and by the early 20th century the term was typically used in this sense.
Ethnic origins
1961 New Zealand census Ethnic group Population% of New Zealand population European2,216,886 Māori167,086 Other31,012 Total2,414,984 2023 New Zealand census Ethnic group Population% of New Zealand population European3,383,742 Māori887,493 Asian861,576 Pacific Islander442,632 Other148,893 Total4,993,923
The table above shows the broad ethnic composition of the New Zealand population at the 1961 census compared to that from the most recent data of the 2023 census. People of European descent constituted the majority of the 4.9 million people living in New Zealand, with 3,099,858 or 62.1% of the population in the 2023 New Zealand census. Those of full or part-Māori ancestry comprise 17.8% of New Zealanders. The residual "others" ethnic group consists largely of Asians and Pacific Islanders.
Māori
The Māori people are most likely descended from people who emigrated from Taiwan to Melanesia and then travelled east through to the Society Islands. After a pause of 70 to 265 years, a new wave of exploration led to the discovery and settlement of New Zealand in about AD 1250–1300, making New Zealand one of the most recently settled major landmasses. Some researchers have suggested an earlier wave of arrivals dating to as early as AD 50–150; these people then either died out or left the islands.Mein Smith (2005), pg 6.Sutton et al. (2008), pg 109. "This paper ... affirms the Long Chronology [first settlement up to 2000 years BP], recognizing it as the most plausible hypothesis."
Over the following centuries, the Polynesian settlers developed into a distinct culture now known as Māori. The population was divided into iwi (tribes) and hapū (subtribes) which would cooperate, compete and fight with each other. At some point, a group of Māori migrated to the Chatham Islands where they developed their distinct Moriori culture.Clark (1994) pg 123–135
Due to New Zealand's geographic isolation, 500 years passed before the next phase of settlement, the arrival of Europeans. Only then did the indigenous inhabitants need to distinguish themselves from the new arrivals, using the term "Māori" which means "normal" or "ordinary".
Between the mid-1840s through to the 1860s, disputes over questionable land purchases led to the New Zealand Wars, which resulted in large tracts of tribal land being confiscated by the colonial government. Settlements such as Parihaka in Taranaki have become almost legendary because of injustices done there. With the loss of much of their land coupled with high fatality rate due to introduced diseases and epidemics, Māori went into a period of decline, and in the late 19th century, it was believed that the Māori population would cease to exist as a separate race and would be assimilated into the European population.
Despite this, the predicted decline did not occur, and numbers recovered. Despite a high degree of intermarriage between Māori and European populations, Māori were able to retain their cultural identity, and in the 1960s and 1970s, Māoridom underwent a cultural revival.
The Māori population has seen stability in the 21st century. In the 2013 Census, 598,602 people identified as being part of the Māori ethnic group, accounting for 14.9% of the New Zealand population, while 668,724 people (17.5%) claimed Māori descent. 278,199 people identified as of sole Māori ethnicity, while 291,015 identified as of both European and Māori ethnicity (with or without a third ethnicity), due to a high rate of intermarriage between the two cultures. Under the Maori Affairs Amendment Act 1974, a Māori is defined as "a person of the Māori race of New Zealand; and includes any descendant of such a person", replacing an earlier legal application based on an arbitrarily defined "degree of Maori blood".
According to the 2006 census, the largest iwi by population is Ngāpuhi (125,601), followed by Ngāti Porou (71,049), Ngāi Tahu (54,819) and Waikato (40,083). However, over 110,000 people of Māori descent in the 2013 census could not identify their iwi. Outside of New Zealand, a large Māori population exists in Australia, estimated at 155,000 in 2011. The Māori Party has suggested a special seat should be created in the New Zealand parliament representing Māori in Australia. Smaller communities also exist in the United Kingdom (approx. 8,000), the United States (up to 3,500) and Canada (approx. 1,000).New Zealand-born figures from the 2000 U.S. Census; maximum figure represents sum of "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander" and people of mixed race. United States Census Bureau (2003). . Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau.
The most common region this group lived in was Auckland Region (23.9 percent or 142,770 people). They are the second-largest ethnic group in New Zealand, after European New Zealanders. In addition, more than 120,000 Māori live in Australia. The Māori language (known as Te Reo Māori) is still spoken to some extent by about a fifth of all Māori, representing 3% of the total population. Many New Zealanders regularly use Māori words and expressions, such as "kia ora", while speaking English. Māori are active in all spheres of New Zealand culture and society, with independent representation in areas such as media, politics (such as Māori electorates), and sport.
European
Most European New Zealanders have British and/or Irish ancestry, with smaller percentages of other European ancestries such as Germans, Poles (historically noted as "Germans" due to Partitions of Poland), French, Dutch, Scandinavian and South Slavs.Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand: New Zealand Peoples In 1961, the census showed that 91.8% of New Zealanders self-identified as being of European descent, down from 95% in 1926.
The Māori-language loanword Pākehā came into use to refer to European New Zealanders, although some European New Zealanders reject this appellation. Twenty-first century New Zealanders increasingly use the word "Pākehā" to refer to all non-Polynesian New Zealanders.
The first Europeans known to have reached New Zealand were the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman and his crew in 1642.Mein Smith (2005), pg 23. Māori killed several of the crew, and no more Europeans went to New Zealand until British explorer James Cook's voyage of 1768–71. Cook reached New Zealand in 1769 and mapped almost the entire coastline. Following Cook, New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North American whaling, sealing, exploring and trading ships. They traded European food and goods, especially metal tools and weapons, for Māori timber, food, artefacts and water. On occasion, Europeans and Māori traded goods for sex.King (2003) pg 122. Some early European arrivals integrated closely with the indigenous Māori people and became known as Pākehā Māori. James Belich characterises many of the very early European settlers as forerunners of a "crew culture" – as distinct from the majority of later European immigrants.
The Treaty of Waitangi was first signed in the Bay of Islands on 6 February 1840.Political and constitutional timeline , New Zealand History online, Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Updated 6 December 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2010. Confusion and disagreement continue to surround the Treaty. However, most New Zealanders still regard "the Treaty" as marking New Zealand's foundation as a nation.
In response to attempts by the New Zealand Company to establish a separate colony in Wellington, and mindful of French claims in Akaroa, Hobson, appointed as Lieutenant-Governor on 14 January 1840, declared British sovereignty over all of New Zealand on 21 May 1840. He published two proclamations published in the New Zealand Advertiser and Bay Of Islands Gazette issue of 19 June 1840. One "assert[s] on the grounds of Discovery, the Sovereign Rights of Her Majesty over the Southern Islands of New Zealand, commonly called 'The Middle Island' (South Island) and 'Stewart's Island' (Stewart Island / Rakiura); and the Island, commonly called 'The Northern Island', having been ceded Sovereignty to Her Majesty". The second proclamation expanded on how sovereignty over the "Northern Island" had been ceded under the treaty signed that February.