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Story: North Americans

Page 4: Facts and figures

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.

  • American: 10,806 (2006); 12,342 (2013); 16,245 (2018)
  • Canadian: 5,604 (2006); 5,871 (2013); 7,797 (2018)

Country of birth

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

United States of America

  • 1858 census: 306
  • 1901 census: 881 (and North America*: 776)
  • 1951 census: 1,713 (and America*: 172)
  • 1976 census: 8,383
  • 2001 census: 13,347
  • 2006 census: 17,748
  • 2013 census: 21,465
  • 2018 census: 27,678

* A separate category in the census

British North America

  • 1874 census: 1,427
  • 1906 census: 1,547

Canada

  • 1951 census: 2,091
  • 1976 census: 7,002
  • 2001 census: 7,770
  • 2006 census: 8,994
  • 2013 census: 9,576
  • 2018 census: 11,928
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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, North Americans – Facts and figures, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/north-americans/page-4 (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 August 2024.