Punjabi New Zealanders

Punjabi New Zealanders
Total population
34,227 (2018)
0.73% of the population[1]
Languages
Punjabi · English
Religion
79.7% Sikhism^
5.2% No religion
4.6% Hinduism
3.9% Islam
3.3% Christianity[2]
Related ethnic groups
Indian New Zealanders · Pakistani New Zealanders
^ Include other religions

Punjabi New Zealanders are New Zealanders who are of Punjabi descent. Their ancestry originates wholly or partially in the Punjab region of South Asia, constituting a subgroup of Indian New Zealanders and Pakistani New Zealanders.[3]

According to the 2018 New Zealand census, there were 34,227 Punjabi-speaking individuals in the country.[1] Punjabi was the second most commonly spoken South Asian language in New Zealand after Hindi, and the 14th most common overall.[1]

New Zealand has a historical and growing Sikh community, most of whom originate from Punjab.[4][5] Punjabis were amongst the earliest immigrants from South Asia to arrive in New Zealand alongside the Gujaratis, during what was then the British Raj in the 1890s,[5][6] and some of them married local Māori women, whose offspring became known as Māori Indians.[7]

  1. ^ a b c "2018 Census totals by topic – national highlights (updated)". Statistics New Zealand. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  2. ^ "2018 Census ethnic group summaries | Stats NZ".
  3. ^ Singh, M.P. (17 December 2021). "Commemorative postage stamp released in New Zealand to mark Punjabi Language Week". SBS News. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  4. ^ Morris, Paul. "Diverse religions - Sikhs". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Indian communities". Teara. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Early immigration". Teara. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  7. ^ Mayhew, W. R. (1977). Tuapeka: The Land and Its People. Clutha District, New Zealand: Capper Press.