Tens of thousands of residents left New Zealand in 2025, according to the latest migration data released by Stats NZ on Friday.
According to a report by Stuff, the figures show that 119,800 Kiwis departed the country last year, slightly higher than in 2024 when 118,500 people left. At the same time, the country recorded its lowest net migration gain for a calendar year since 2013, excluding the Covid-19-affected year of 2021.
Stats NZ reported that New Zealand gained 14,200 more people than it lost in 2025, with 134,000 arrivals and 119,800 departures. This marked a decline from 2024, when net migration stood at 23,800. Between 2001 and 2025, the country averaged a yearly migration gain of 30,600 people.
“Annual net migration fell from a record 135,500 in the October 2023 year to a provisional low of 8600 in the August 2025 year, before increasing in late 2025,” said international migration statistics spokesperson Bryan Downes, as quoted by Stuff.
The ongoing “brain drain” of New Zealanders moving overseas continued in 2025, though at a slightly slower pace than previously recorded. According to Downes, the drop in net migration compared with 2024 was driven by 6% fewer migrant arrivals, while migrant departures rose by 1% to a provisional calendar-year record.
According to Stuff, separate data from Stats NZ also showed a recovery in international tourism to Aotearoa. Visitor arrivals exceeded 3.5 million in December 2025, an increase of 195,600 (6%) compared with December 2024.
“The December 2025 year was the first annual period to exceed 3.5 million overseas visitor arrivals since the March 2020 year,” Downes said. “The increase in overseas visitors to New Zealand in 2025 coincided with a 4% increase in flights into the country compared with 2024,” Stuff has quoted.
Visitor numbers were led by arrivals from Australia, which increased by 136,500 (10%). Arrivals from the United States rose by 15,200 (4%), while visitors from China increased by 13,300 (5%).