Who are CALD populations

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) populations in New Zealand refers to peoples from Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and African backgrounds.

Asian People

In the 2013 Census, in the Auckland Region, 22% (298,554) of the population was Asian. The biggest Asian groups were Chinese and Indian, each accounted for over a third of Asian ethnicity responses. Koreans were the biggest group in the Other Asian category. Thirteen percent of the Asian population spoke no English. Twenty- one percent of the Asian population in the Auckland Region were born in New Zealand (Walker, 2014).

For this resource we have created broad groupings based on cultural similarities. Our groupings are as follows:

East Asian: People who have migrated from China, Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia, South Korea, North Korea, Macau and the Philippines.

South East Asian: People from Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Burma, Brunei, East Timor, and Laos.

South Asian: Includes people originating from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Maldives and Fijian Indians.

Middle Eastern, Latin American and African people

The Middle Eastern, Latin American and African (MELAA) ethnicity grouping consists of extremely diverse groups with dissimilar cultures, religions and backgrounds. In 2013, in the Auckland Region, two percent (23,682) of the population was Middle Eastern/Latin American/African (MELAA). For the MELAA population about half are Middle Eastern and a quarter each for African and Latin American ethnic groups. Twenty- one percent of the MELAA population in the Auckland Region were born in New Zealand (Walker, 2014). This group is one of the fastest growing population groups in the Auckland region (Perumal, 2011).