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Growing Asian identity projected in New Zealand population

Xinhua, May 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

A growing proportion of New Zealanders will identify with Asian ethnic groups or with indigenous Maori or Pacific island groups over the next two decades, the government statistics agency forecast Thursday.

Those identifying with an Asian ethnicity would grow from 12 percent in 2013 to 17 percent in the mid-2020s, and to 20.9 percent in 2038, said a commentary from Statistics New Zealand.

The increase in the Asian population share would be largely driven by net migration, while natural increase would account for about two-fifths of the projected Asian population growth.

The proportion identifying as Maori was projected to grow from 15.6 percent in 2013 to 17 percent in the mid-2020s, and to 19.5 percent in 2038.

And those identifying with a Pacific ethnicity would grow from 8 percent in 2013 to 9 percent in the mid-2020s, and to 10.9 percent in 2038.

The number of people identifying with a European ethnicity or New Zealander was projected to drop from 74.6 percent in 2013 to 70 percent in the mid-2020s, and to 65.6 percent in 2038.

Another 1 percent of the population currently identified with Middle Eastern, Latin American or African ethnicities.

"There is considerable overlap of these ethnic populations," population statistics manager Vina Cullum said in a statement.

"People can and do identify with multiple ethnicities, especially people aged under 30 years." Endi