Jump in Indian diaspora in New Zealand

MELBOURNE: There has been a surge in the population of the Indian diaspora in New Zealand, growing by 68% between 2001 and 2006 and on track to catch up with the ethnic Chinese, a report has said. New Zealand’s ethnic make-up has continued to change. Chinese are the biggest Asian ethnic group, with their numbers increasing by 40.5% in the five year period to 148,000.

The ethnic Indians are catching up, growing 68% between 2001 and 2006 to 105,000, a report released yesterday by Statistics New Zealand said. People identifying themselves as Hindu, Sikh and Muslim rose, reflecting the immigration patterns. There was a decline in the population identifying themselves as Christian, from 60.6% in 2001 to 55.6% in 2006.

Asians are the fastest growing ethnic group in New Zealand, becoming the third largest part of the population, census figures show. Their numbers increased from 238,176 in 2001 to reach 354,552 in 2006 (an increase of almost 50%). —