Migrants driving decade-high New Zealand population growth

New Zealand's population is growing at its fastest rate in over a decade, with the gain in migrants double that of the natural increase of birth minus death, the government statistics agency said on Friday.

The country's population grew by 86,900 people, or 1.9 percent, in the year to the end of June, according to Statistics New Zealand.

This came from net migration (arrivals minus departures) of 58, 300, and natural increase of 28,700, bringing the estimated resident population to 4.6 million.

The latest figures showed neighboring Australia's population growing at 1.4 percent a year.

"The last time New Zealand's population grew at this rate was in 2003 when the increase was 2 percent," population statistics manager Vina Cullum said in a statement.

"The last time New Zealand's growth rate exceeded Australia's was 2004."

The country's age structure was also changing with the younger (15 to 39 years) and older (40 to 64 years) working-age populations now similar in size at 33.3 percent and 32.2 percent of the total population respectively.

In comparison, two decades ago those aged 15 to 39 years accounted for 38.7 percent of the population while those aged 40 to 64 years comprised only 26.7 percent.

"The population has aged over the last 20 years with a larger proportion of the population in the 40 to 64 age group than there was in 1995," said McCullum. Endi