Median age of the population

IBISWorld expects the median age of the population to rise to 38.4 years in 2025-26, an increase of 0.3 years on the previous year. This is in line with the ongoing trend towards the ageing of the New Zealand population. Advancements in healthcare and medical technologies have driven an increase in the life expectancy of New Zealand residents. Consequently, New Zealand residents are living longer, contributing to an increase in the median age of the population.

The expansion of life expectancy in New Zealand, as a result of advancements in healthcare and medical technology, as well as rising health consciousness, is having the most pronounced long-term effect on the median age of the New Zealand population. As New Zealand residents live longer, they spend a greater amount of time above the median age. However, high levels of net migration over most of the past decade have limited rises in the median age of the population. Yet, during the pandemic a collapse in net migration because of border closures led to an uptick in the median age in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Surging net migration during 2023-24, when the median age of arrivals dropped from 31 to 30, helped drive down the median age in 2023-24. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts the median age of the New Zealand population will rise at an average annual rate of 0.16 years over the five years through 2025-26.