WELLINGTON - New Zealand's net migration gain fell sharply to 12,400 in the year ending September 2025, marking the lowest annual total for a September year since 2013, excluding COVID-affected years, Stats NZ reported Thursday.

It was down from 42,400 net gains in the year ending September 2024, due to fewer migrant arrivals and more migrant departures, according to Stats NZ international migration statistics spokesperson Bryan Downes.

Total migrant arrivals dropped to 138,900 in the September 2025 year from a year earlier, returning to pre-pandemic levels seen between 2015 and 2018, Stats NZ said, adding migrant departures rose to 126,400 in the September 2025 year, close to the record 127,700 set in the May 2025 year.

The net migration gain of non-New Zealand citizens held steady at 58,800, with a slight increase from previous months but still well below last year's 87,300, it said, adding migration is a key contributor to population change in New Zealand.

New Zealand citizens recorded a near-record net migration loss of 46,400 in the September 2025 year, with 72,700 departures, Stats, it added.

Changes in migration are typically due to a combination of factors, including relative economic and labor market conditions and immigration policies between New Zealand and the rest of the world, it said.