Communities

Indian Community

The Indian community is the fastest growing amongst the Asian communities

The Indian ethnic group comprised 155,178 people or 3.9 percent of people that stated an ethnic group living in New Zealand on 5 March 2013. The Fijian Indian ethnic group comprised 10,929 people or less than 1 percent of people that stated an ethnic group living in New Zealand on 5 March 2013

Previous census figures indicate that Fijian Indians were more prevalent than those from the Indian sub continent, however, this has altered recently with migrant patterns showing significant numbers from India directly. This increase in population is also supported by the huge diversification amongst the Indian community in terms of language with approximately 15 different dialects spoken, although English and Hindi tend to be the most widely spoken.

The Indian community have also got a number of print media options and a dedicated radio station which serves the purpose of informing the community about local and national news, international news and celebrating aspects of their culture such as music, religion and Bollywood. As a whole, the ethnic Indian community is likely to continue growing at its current rate, with Auckland seeing the majority of this growth. While other migrants may be affected by language requirements, given the continued prevalence of English in the Indian educational system, it is predicted that will be less affected by any major changes to immigration requirements.

For people identifying with the Indian ethnic group living in New Zealand on 5 March 2013:

• The most common region this group lived in was Auckland Region (68.5 percent or 106,326 people).
• The median age (half are younger and half are older than this age) was 30.1 years.
• 23.5 percent (36,012 people) were born in New Zealand and 76.5 percent (117,204 people) were born overseas.
• 89.7 percent (101,859 people) aged 15 years and over had a formal qualification.

For people identifying with the Fijian Indian ethnic group living in New Zealand on 5 March 2013:

• The most common region this group lived in was Auckland Region (73.8 percent or 8,067 people).
• The median age (half are younger and half are older than this age) was 31.6 years.
• 17.0 percent (1,833 people) were born in New Zealand and 83.0 percent (8,955 people) were born overseas.
• 88.1 percent (7,488 people) aged 15 years and over had a formal qualification.