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English is the predominant language and a de facto official language of New Zealand. Almost the entire population speak it either as native speakers or proficiently as a second language. The New Zealand English dialect is most similar to Australian English in pronunciation, with some key differences.
Aug 1, 2017 · The majority of New Zealanders have a sound knowledge of English. The language is spoken by 3,819,969 people accounting for 96.14% of the population of New Zealand. In contrast, the native Māori language is spoken by only 148,395 people, accounting for only 3.73% of New Zealand’s population.
This section illustrates the growing diversity of languages spoken in New Zealand – we are seeing a greater number of languages and more people speaking them. You can also read more about people’s ability to speak New Zealand’s official languages, and the number of languages people can speak.
Sep 24, 2019 · The two official languages of New Zealand are Māori and New Zealand Sign Language. For official languages, though, not many Kiwis speak either one. There are roughly 600,000 ethnic Māori in the country, but only about 100,000 who can understand the language, and 30,000 – 50,000 speakers of the language over 15 years old.
New Zealand has three official languages: English, Te Reo Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language. English is the primary language; however, around 4% (or 140,000) of people speak Te Reo. This makes it the second most commonly spoken language in New Zealand.
While English is the predominant language spoken in New Zealand, there are two actual official languages in New Zealand. Māori became an official language in 1987 while in April 2006, New Zealand became the first country to declare sign language as an official language, alongside Māori.
In the 2018 Census, the five most common languages in New Zealand were English, te reo Māori, Samoan, Northern Chinese (including Mandarin), and Hindi.
