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Story: History of immigration

Pacific-born people in New Zealand, 1961–2013

Image
William Williams with a bushy white beard in later life.

Move the mouse over the lines on the graph to see the population figures. Click on a country of birth in the key to remove that line from the graph; click on the country again to restore it.

This graph shows the rise in numbers of those born in the Pacific and living in New Zealand. Over the period the total increased by more than 130,000, from just over 14,000 in 1961. Even this increase underestimates the impact of Pacific peoples, as in 2013 more than 310,000 people identified with these Pacific ethnicities.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: PA2-1980

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, History of immigration – The end of a 'white New Zealand' policy, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/graph/2156/pacific-born-people-in-new-zealand-1961-2013 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 August 2015.