People are leaving New Zealand in record numbers as unemployment rises, interest rates remain high and economic growth is anaemic, government statistics show.
Data released by Statistics New Zealand on Tuesday showed that 131,200 people departed New Zealand in the year ended June 2024, provisionally the highest on record for an annual period. Around a third of these were headed to Australia.
While net migration, the number of those arriving minus those leaving, remains at high levels, economists also expect this to wane as the number of foreign nationals wanting to move to New Zealand falls due to the softer economy.
The data showed of those departing 80,174 were citizens, which was almost double the numbers seen leaving prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
AFAIK they also have a somewhat severe housing crisis. No idea whether it’s actually worse than e.g. in Australia, though - who doesn’t have a housing crisis these days?
Yeah, housing is fucked. We have ignored any infrastructure investment in …40 years?
Education is fucked
Health is fucked
Tourism got fucked by COVID
That pretty much leaves farmers and tenants