Story: Taupori Māori – Māori population change

Māori women's fertility

This graph shows the average number of babies born to Māori women from the 1840s to the 2010s. Māori women's fertility rate fell rapidly from the 1960s as the use of contraception – such as the pill – became more common.

Note: the gaps in the graph above reflect gaps in data. Māori fertility rates are estimated until 1961, when official counts began.

Using this item

Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Sources: Ian Pool et al., The New Zealand family from 1840: a demographic history. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2007, Fig. 2.1;Statistics New Zealand

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How to cite this page:

Ian Pool and Tahu Kukutai, 'Taupori Māori – Māori population change - Decades of despair, 1840–1900', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/graph/31310/maori-womens-fertility (accessed 24 April 2024)

Story by Ian Pool and Tahu Kukutai, published 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 27 Sep 2018