It’s just as well I’m here
The 2006 Census QuickStats National highlights from Statistics New Zealand reveals a possible reason why I was granted residency – there’s a shortage of men in New Zealand. The resident population of New Zealand now stands at 4,027,947 but there over 90,000 more women than men. However, the fact that they also granted residency to my wife and four daughters means a net gain of four on the Venus side of things.
Auckland was found to the fastest growing region at 12.4% against the national average of 7.8%. Inevitably, this news will not be well received by those living south of the Bombay Hills, who are not well disposed towards JAFAs at the best of times. That said, the sheer cultural, ethnic and economic diversity of the Auckland population is what makes it a great place to live and work.
Good for you! I wonder if it’s as easy for Asians to migrate :)
Hey Peter
Although some pakeha[1] often complain about Asian immigration, they also moan about English immigrants like me too!
In this year’s NZ Census, a full 1/12th of the 4.1m national population here identified themselves as Asian[2]. In the Auckland region, that figure becomes 1/3rd with 234,222 of the 698,622 residents identifying themselves as Asian[3]. Twenty plus of the fifty people in my teams at work are either continental Indian, Fijian Indian or Sri Lankan.
It might interest you to note that my Immigration NZ case officer was from Bangalore!
[1] Pakeha: European descended New Zealanders http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakeha
[2] http://snipurl.com/14g5s
[3] http://snipurl.com/14g5v