People walk down a street in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 28, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

WELLINGTON - New Zealand saw a net migration gain of 126,000 in December 2023, the largest for a calendar year, according to the statistics department Stats NZ on Thursday.

This compared with the provisional record of 134,400 in October 2023, the Stats NZ said.

The annual net migration gain in 2023 was made up of a net gain of 173,000 non-New Zealand citizens and a net loss of 47,000 New Zealand citizens, Stats NZ population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said

The annual net migration gain in 2023 was made up of a net gain of 173,000 non-New Zealand citizens and a net loss of 47,000 New Zealand citizens, Stats NZ population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said.

"In 2023 a near-record net migration gain of non-New Zealand citizens more than offset a record net migration loss of New Zealand citizens," Islam said, adding the net migration gain of non-New Zealand citizens averaged 474 a day in 2023, and the net migration loss of New Zealand citizens averaged 129 a day.

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

Net migration gains of non-New Zealand citizens averaged about 60,000 a year from 2014 to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The net migration gain in 2023 was mainly driven by citizens of India, the Philippines, China, Fiji and South Africa.

The annual net migration loss of 47,000 New Zealand citizens in 2023 is a new annual record, the Stats NZ said, adding New Zealand has usually had an annual net migration loss of New Zealand citizens, which averaged 26,600 a year in 2002-2013, and 4,000 a year in 2014-2019.

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About 53 percent of New Zealand citizen migrant departures were to Australia, based on the latest estimates.