New Zealand’s young leaving in record numbers as cost of living bites

Wellington, New Zealand – When Jessica Chong started sending out invitations for a recent party to celebrate her and her partner’s birthdays in Auckland, New Zealand, she realised that few of their closest friends would be able to attend.

In the last few months, most of them had moved overseas.

Chong’s experience reflects a broader trend.

Despite its international image as a progressive haven, New Zealand is experiencing a record exodus of people amid steep rises in living costs, a scarcity of jobs and what Chong calls a generally “grim” atmosphere.

“It just feels a bit empty,” Chong, 28, who is herself planning to move to London, told media.

“It will actually be kind of funny: we’ll move there and be hanging out with people we already know, which is not the point but will be kind of nice.”

According to provisional figures from Statistics New Zealand, 131,200 people left New Zealand in the year to June 2024, the highest number on record.

Of those, 80,200 were citizens, roughly double the number of annual departures before the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 40 percent of those leaving were aged between 18 and 30.

With outward migration at unprecedented levels, experts fear that many of those leaving may not come back.