Facts and figures (original) (raw)

Story: Middle Eastern peoples

Page 5. Facts and figures

Ethnic identity

In the New Zealand census, people were asked to indicate the ethnic group or groups with which they identified. The numbers include those who indicated more than one group.

• Arab: 2,607 (2006); 2,916 (2013); 2,994 (2018)
• Assyrian: 1,683 (2006); 1,497 (2013); 1,293 (2018)
• Iranian/Persian: 2,895 (2006); 3,198 (2013); 4,425 (2018)
• Iraqi: 3,222 (2006); 2,586 (2013); 2,688 (2018)
• Lebanese: 999 (2006); 1,044 (2013); 1,278 (2018)

Country of birth

The New Zealand census figures listed here show the number of residents born in countries of the Middle East.

Arabia

• 1881 census: 1
• 1921 census: 4

Saudi Arabia

• 2001 census: 258
• 2006 census: 630
• 2013 census: 1,881
• 2018 census: 1,848

Persia

• 1881 census: 2
• 1921 census: 8
• 1951 census: 20

Iran

• 2001 census: 1,980
• 2006 census: 2,793
• 2013 census: 3,081
• 2018 census: 4,563

Syria

• 1921 census: 338
• 1951 census: 48
• 2001 census: 243
• 2006 census: 354
• 2013 census: 393
• 2018 census: 1,329

Turkey

• 1921 census: 21
• 1951 census: 28
• 1976 census: 201
• 2001 census: 396
• 2006 census: 603
• 2013 census: 810
• 2018 census: 1,134

Lebanon

• 1951 census: 204
• 1976 census: 211
• 2001 census: 408
• 2006 census: 411
• 2013 census: 423
• 2018 census: 561

Jordan

• 1951 census: 2
• 2001 census: 216
• 2006 census: 348
• 2013 census: 462
• 2018 census: 744

Bahrain

• 2001 census: 192
• 2006 census: 291
• 2013 census: 255
• 2018 census: 345

Iraq

• 2001 census: 4,848
• 2006 census: 6,024
• 2013 census: 5,481
• 2018 census: 5,757

Kuwait

• 2001 census: 456
• 2006 census: 606
• 2013 census: 600
• 2018 census: 759

Oman

• 2001 census: 78
• 2006 census: 285
• 2013 census: 294
• 2018 census: 402

Palestine

• 2001 census: 123
• 2006 census: 108
• 2013 census: 162
• 2018 census: 234

Qatar

• 2001 census: 48
• 2006 census: 72
• 2013 census: 99
• 2018 census: 213

United Arab Emirates

• 2001 census: 411
• 2006 census: 747
• 2013 census: 918
• 2018 census: 1,626

Yemen

• 2001 census: 66
• 2006 census: 81
• 2013 census: 84
• 2018 census: 144

How to cite this page:

James Veitch and Dalia Tinawi, 'Middle Eastern peoples - Facts and figures', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/middle-eastern-peoples/page-5 (accessed 14 January 2025)

Story by James Veitch and Dalia Tinawi, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Aug 2024