POPULATION AND SETTLEMENT

Pre-European Population and Early Days of Settlement

Polynesians, the Maori, first reached what we now know as New Zealand by 800 C.E. The actual size of the pre-European Maori population is uncertain. Captain Cook, who first visited New Zealand in 1769, estimated that there were about 100,000 Maoris, but he never visited some of the islands most populous centers. The figure of "about 50", often quoted as the European population of New Zealand in 1800. By 1815 the total of Europeans in New Zealand is believed to have been about 200. This increase reflects the expansion of trade and the growing numbers of traders settled ashore; the extension of whaling and sealing activities; and the establishment of the first mission. By the late 1830s the European population of New Zealand had risen to around 2,000. Due to the islands lush and fertile land it drew many British settlers. These new European arrivals caused tension between them and the Maori natives. In 1845 widespread Maori wars between the British broke out until 1870, with the British victorious and the Maori losing most of their land. 

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/population

Kupe is said to be the first Polynesian explorer to discover New Zealand. He then returned to his ancestral homeland, Hawaiki.

First Polynesian inhabitants arrive from Cook and Society Islands

http://www.dipity.com/everlasting1/The-History-of-New-Zealand/

Today

Today the total population has risen to 4.3 million and the Maoris, once considered to be a dying race, have a rate of natural increase twice that of the European population. Anglo-European migration has structured the distribution and concentration of contemporary populations. New Zealand is highly urbanized, most of the urban transformation came during the 20th Century, as the rural economy became less labor intensive and as opportunities for urban manufacturing and service employment increased. Past immigration movements are present in how the island scene is, with the majority of agricultural land devoted to livestock production, particularly sheep and cattle. The livestock outnumber people in New Zealand by a ratio of more than 20 to 1. Majority of its population are located in the middle latitudes rather than the tropics. More than 70 percent of the population lives on the North Island, with the Auckland region (1.1 million) dominating the metropolitan scene in the north. 80 percent of the population live in cities. Population issues that the residents face today are that their communities see many of their young people and professional leave for better employment and opportunities of the city.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10866858