Māori Demographic Trends

Whetu Wereta

The Māori population at the end of the twentieth century is in a state of transition. The level of growth is falling, causing a change in age composition of the population. In fact massive changes in the age structure of the population are expected over the next forty years, which will affect every aspect of Māori social, economic and cultural life. Policy-makers and planners at national and local government level, and at the iwi level, need to be conscious of the likely changes and their implications for social policy and Māori development.

This paper identifies and describes the major movements in the population over the last four decades and looks forward to likely future trends. In particular, there will be a large growth in the 65 years and over age group, and with a policy environment that stresses private over public provision this will have significant implications for Māori socio-political arrangements at the local and national levels.

The overall aim of the paper is to create a greater awareness of the issues with which government and Māori leadership alike will have to come to grips as the population progresses through the early part of the twenty-first century.