Story: Middle Eastern peoples

Page 5. Facts and figures

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Country of birth

The New Zealand census figures listed here show the number of residents born in countries of the Middle East.

Arabia

  • 1881 census: 1
  • 1921 census: 4

Saudi Arabia

  • 2001 census: 258
  • 2006 census: 627
  • 2013 census: 1,881

Persia

  • 1881 census: 2
  • 1921 census: 8
  • 1951 census: 20

Iran

  • 2001 census: 1,980
  • 2006 census: 2,793
  • 2013 census: 3,084

Syria

  • 1921 census: 338
  • 1951 census: 48
  • 2001 census: 243
  • 2006 census: 354
  • 2013 census: 393

Turkey

  • 1921 census: 21
  • 1951 census: 28
  • 1976 census: 201
  • 2001 census: 396
  • 2006 census: 600
  • 2013 census: 810

Lebanon

  • 1951 census: 204
  • 1976 census: 211
  • 2001 census: 408
  • 2006 census: 411
  • 2013 census: 423

Jordan

  • 1951 census: 2
  • 2001 census: 216
  • 2006 census: 348
  • 2013 census: 462

Bahrain

  • 2001 census: 192
  • 2006 census: 291
  • 2013 census: 255

Iraq

  • 2001 census: 4,848
  • 2006 census: 6,024
  • 2013 census: 5,481

Kuwait

  • 2001 census: 456
  • 2006 census: 606
  • 2013 census: 600

Oman

  • 2001 census: 78
  • 2006 census: 285
  • 2013 census: 294

Palestine

  • 2001 census: 123
  • 2006 census: 108
  • 2013 census: 162

Qatar

  • 2001 census: 48
  • 2006 census: 72
  • 2013 census: 99

United Arab Emirates

  • 2001 census: 411
  • 2006 census: 744
  • 2013 census: 915

Yemen

  • 2001 census: 66
  • 2006 census: 81
  • 2013 census: 84

Ethnic identity

In the 2006 and 2013 censuses, people were asked to indicate the ethnic group or groups with which they identified. The numbers include those who indicated more than one group.

  • Arab: 2,607 (2006); 2,916 (2013)
  • Assyrian: 1,683 (2006); 1,497 (2013)
  • Iranian/Persian: 2,895 (2006); 3,198 (2013)
  • Iraqi: 3,222 (2006); 2,583 (2013)
  • Lebanese: 999 (2006); 1,044 (2013)
How to cite this page:

James Veitch and Dalia Tinawi, 'Middle Eastern peoples - Facts and figures', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/middle-eastern-peoples/page-5 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by James Veitch and Dalia Tinawi, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2015