Migration added 22,500 people to Auckland's population in the year to November

Migration is adding almost 1,000 people a week to New Zealand's population, with net permanent and long-term migration hitting a new all time high of 49,800 in the year to October and expected to go even higher next year.

That means population growth from migration is now running at more than four times the long-term average of 11,700 migrants a year from December 1994 to December 2013.

Statistics NZ said the highest ever net annual gain was driven by a combination of more people coming to this country on a permanent and long-term (for more than 12 months) basis, and fewer people leaving.

Total migrant arrivals reached a new high of 108,800 in the year to November, up 17% on the same period a year earlier, while long-term departures of 59,000 were down 20% on the previous year.

The biggest increases in arrivals were from India, followed by Australia, China and the Philippines.

Statistics NZ said migration added 22,500 people to Auckland's population in the year to November, while Canterbury's grew by 6,000, followed by the Waikato 1,700, Otago 1,300, Wellington 1,300 and Bay of Plenty 1,100.

The biggest source of migrants was India, with migrants from that country providing a net gain of 9,967 for the year to November, followed by China 7,186, the UK 5,211, the Philippines 2,317, Germany 2,569, France 2,487 and South Africa 1,434.

However there are expectations that even more migrants may come to this country next year.

In a First Impressions note about the migration figures, Westpac senior economist Felix Delbruck said it could increase to 60,000 next year, putting further pressure on the already over stretched housing market.

"With the Australian economy looking softer than a few months ago, and signs that the New Zealand economy still has plenty of room to grow without pushing interest rates higher, there is every reason to expect people to keep voting in favour of New Zealand with their feet well into next year," Delbruck said.

"We now expect annual net migration to peak at 60,000 in the second half of 2015.

"This is broadly in line with the Reserve Bank's latest thoughts on net migration.

"The question is what it means for the economy - more migrants means more workers, alleviating labour shortages and keeping wage inflation low, but will also add fuel to a housing market that is already showing signs of warming up again."