Migration figures for April this year show a record number of Kiwis have decided New Zealand is no longer their home.
Stats NZ figures show 81,200 New Zealand citizens left our shores in the past year, a 41 percent increase on April 2023 and an increase on the previous record in March of 78,200.
The number of Kiwis returning also dropped slightly by 2 percent, meaning there was a net 56,500 loss of New Zealanders, which is also a new record.
Departures overall are up 35 percent on a year ago, while arrivals are up 25 percent.
While migration is still running hot, the annual net migration figures continued to head down, coming off the October high of 137,736 to 98,464. For context, the average net migration figure from 2002-2019 was 27,500
While Kiwis make up the bulk of those leaving, people from India are the largest group of arrivals at 48,000. The next largest country of origin is the Philippines (30,300) and then China (25,700).
Stats NZ figures also show the number of non-Kiwis arriving at 154,900, which is more than three times above the pre-Covid years of 2012-2019, when the average was 47,600 a year.
