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MIGRANTS from the UK and Ireland comprised the largest single group of settlers in New Zealand, making up to one-third of the people born overseas.
Overseas settlers moved to New Zealand faster than the country's birth rate and last year they totalled almost 20 per cent of the country's population.
Some 698,628 people or 19.5 per cent of all New Zealand residents were born overseas, according to figures from the 2001 Census released by Statistics New Zealand.
In the five years between the 1996 and 2001 Censuses, the number of New Zealand residents that were born overseas increased by 15.5 per cent.
The majority of New Zealand residents born overseas had lived in the country for a number of years, with close to three-quarters having lived there for five years or more. Just 7.5 per cent had lived in New Zealand for less than one year.
Around one-third (32.3 per cent) of those born overseas came from the United Kingdom and Ireland, one-quarter (24.9 per cent) were born in Oceania (primarily Samoa and Australia), and 12.8 per cent were born in North-East Asia (primarily China).
* In the 2001 Census, 698,628 people said they were born overseas, up 15.5 per cent since the 1996 Census. In comparison, the New Zealand-born population increased by 1.5 per cent over this time period.
* In the 10 years between the 1991 and 2001 Censuses, the proportion of the usually resident population that was born overseas increased from 15.8 per cent to 19.5 per cent.
* There was wide variation among the overseas born population in terms of the number of years lived in New Zealand, with 40.8 per cent having lived here for 20 years or more, 31.6 per cent for between 5 and 19 years, and the remaining 27.5 per cent having lived here for less than five years. Just 7.5 per cent had lived in New Zealand for less than one year.
* The 2001 Census in Australia showed that 355,765 of their residents were born in New Zealand, accounting for 1.9 per cent of the population in that country. In the five years between the 1996 and 2001 Censuses, the number of New Zealand-born residents living in Australia increased by 22.1 per cent.
* Data from the New Zealand Immigration Service for the year ended June 2001 shows that 55,715 applications were approved for students (of which 18,271 were from China), 43,779 applications were approved for general residence (25,828 on skilled/business grounds, 14,608 on family sponsored grounds, and 3,343 on international/humanitarian grounds), and 57,111 applications were approved for work (30,650 on non-skill-based criteria and 26,461 on skill-based criteria).
* 51.5 per cent of those born outside New Zealand were women, the same proportion as for the New Zealand-born population (51.2 per cent).
* The overseas-born population has a different age structure to the New Zealand born population. At the time of the 2001 Census, 10.7 per cent of those born overseas were under 15 years of age (25.8 per cent for the New Zealand born population), 73.7 per cent were aged 15-64 years (63.2 per cent for the New Zealand born population), and 15.6 per cent were aged 65 years and over (11.1 per cent for the New Zealand born population).
* Around half of the overseas-born population lived in the Auckland Region, and close to 1 in 10 of the Auckland Region's population had lived in New Zealand for less than five years. A further 12.4 per cent of the overseas-born population lived in the Wellington Region, and 9.9 per cent lived in the Canterbury Region. Just 7.2 per cent of those born overseas lived in rural areas compared with 15.8 per cent of the New Zealand-born population.
* Unemployment rates for those born overseas varied according to the number of years since arrival in New Zealand. Those who had lived in New Zealand less than one year had an unemployment rate of 22.6 per cent in the week preceding the 2001 Census. After one year this reduced to 13.3 per cent, and between 5 and 9 years it reduced to 10.5 per cent.
* People born overseas who were in paid employment were more likely than New Zealand-born residents to be working as legislators, administrators and managers; professionals; or technicians and associate professionals. 45.8 per cent of those born outside New Zealand worked in one of these three occupational groups compared with 38.2 per cent of New Zealand-born residents.
* People born overseas were less likely to report 'no religion' than those born in New Zealand, with 22.8 per cent of the overseas-born population stating that they had no religious affiliation in the 2001 Census, compared with 31.3 per cent of those born in New Zealand.