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Story: Population change

Māori population by age and gender, 1901–2006

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The number of Māori aged 14 and under increased as child mortality rates declined and fertility rates remained high. The Māori child population peaked in the mid-1960s (when it was larger than the working-age population of 15–64-year-olds), but then decreased relative to the other age groups. The older population (65 and over) increased more significantly at the end of the 20th century. The total Māori population grew rapidly after the Second World War.

Using this item

Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Ian Pool, Te iwi Maori: a New Zealand population, past, present & projected. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 1991; Statistics New Zealand

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How to cite this page

Ian Pool and Natalie Jackson, Population change – Key population trends, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/28724/maori-population-by-age-and-gender-1901-2006 (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Ian Pool and Natalie Jackson, published 21 April 2011, reviewed and revised 23 August 2018 with assistance from Natalie Jackson.