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Story: Chinese

Page 7: Facts and figures

Ethnic identity

In the New Zealand census, people were asked to indicate the ethnic group with which they identified. The numbers include those who indicated more than one group.

  • Chinese: 139,728 (2006); 163,101 (2013); 231,387 (2018)
  • Taiwanese Chinese: 5,448 (2006); 5,715 (2013); 6,570 (2018)

Country of birth

The New Zealand census figures listed here show the number of residents born in China or associated territories.

China

  • 1867 census: 1,219
  • 1901 census: 2,902
  • 1951 census: 3,264
  • 1976 census: 4,372 (including Taiwan)
  • 2001 census: 38,949
  • 2006 census: 78,117
  • 2013 census: 89,121
  • 2018 census: 132,906

Hong Kong

  • 1951 census: 113
  • 1976 census: 1,211
  • 2001 census: 11,301
  • 2006 census: 7,686
  • 2013 census: 7,059
  • 2018 census: 10,992

Taiwan

  • 2001 census: 12,486
  • 2006 census: 10,764
  • 2013 census: 8,988
  • 2018 census: 10,440
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How to cite this page

Manying Ip, Chinese – Facts and figures, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/chinese/page-7 (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Manying Ip, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 July 2024.