WELLINGTON - New Zealand saw a net migration loss of 30,000 people to Australia in the year ending December 2024, according to the statistics department Stats NZ on Thursday.

This figure was similar to the loss of 29,400 in 2023 and marked the highest annual net loss since 2012, though it remains below the record of 43,700 set in March 2012, said Stats NZ international migration statistics spokesperson Sarah Drake.

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The net migration loss to Australia in 2024 was driven by 47,300 departures and 17,300 arrivals, which continues a pattern of annual net losses averaging 30,000 from 2004 to 2013, then falling to about 3,000 per year between 2014 and 2019, Drake said.

New Zealand citizens led trans-Tasman migration in 2024, making up 85 percent of departures to Australia and 67 percent of arrivals. Of those migrating to Australia, 35 percent were born overseas, higher than the national overseas-born rate of 29 percent in 2023, statistics show.

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Young adults aged 20 to 39 made up 51 percent of New Zealand citizen departures in 2024, with 58 percent of all migrant departures of New Zealand citizens heading to Australia, Stats NZ said.

New Zealand saw a net migration gain of 54,100 from the rest of the world in 2024, more than offsetting the loss to Australia, though well below the 2023 record of 157,300, it said.