WELLINGTON, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand continues to become more culturally diverse, with more than 150 languages being spoken, and is home to people born in a diverse range of countries, the statistics department Stats NZ said on Thursday.

"Just under 30 percent of New Zealanders were born overseas, and the census recorded well over 200 different birthplaces," said Deputy Government Statistician and Stats NZ Deputy Chief Executive for Insights and Statistics Rachael Milicich.

According to the 2023 Census data, 3.5 million people were born in New Zealand and 1.4 million born overseas.

"Pretty much every part of the world is represented here, from people born in Iceland in the north, to Argentina in the south," Milicich said.

People born in England made up 4.2 percent of the population, followed by China and India at 2.9 percent, respectively, she said, adding that of those born overseas, the Philippines had the largest numerical increase between 2018 and 2023, growing by 46.8 percent.

The Maori language, an official language of New Zealand, is the most widely spoken language in New Zealand after English, with 213,849 Maori speakers in 2023, up 15 percent since the 2018 Census, statistics showed.

Auckland continued to be the most ethnically diverse region, said the 2023 Census, adding that while half the population has a European ethnicity, it was the region with the highest proportion of people with Asian ethnicities, which is 31.3 percent compared with 17.3 percent nationally, and Pacific ethnicities, which is 16.6 percent compared with 8.9 percent nationally.

Auckland was also home to 70 percent of the Korean and Chinese populations in the country, it said. Enditem

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