3 million Kiwis, 60 million sheep

The NZ Government’s Statistics department have had some spare time on their hands.

They’ve researched some common myths about population.

We always heard that there were around 60 million in New Zealand, usually in relation of another sheep joke. However the ratio of 20 sheep to every Kiwi is a bit out of date now.

The latest Agricultural Production statistics says there was 40.1 million resident sheep at 30 June 2006. The sheep-person ratio has halved in the last 20 years, and now stands at 10 sheep per person. I used to keep mine hidden in the bedroom.

New Zealand's sheep/person ratio is still twice as high as Australia, we have less than five sheep per person. So the Velcro gloves and taking the sheep to the edge of a cliff jokes that are still somewhat relevant.

There are 91.9 million sheep in Australia at 30 June 2006 - the lowest estimate since 1925 (ABS 2007). The Australian population grew from 18.0 million in 1994 to 20.7 million in 2006.

Here's the Kiwi myths explained and exposed...

• Myth 1: Half of all marriages end in divorce
• Myth 2: There was a surge of returning New Zealanders after 9/11
• Myth 3: "The browning of New Zealand"
• Myth 4: New Zealand women are now having their first baby at age 30
• Myth 5: New Zealand's population is only growing because of migration
• Myth 6: "In 2003 four of every five pregnant Asian women aborted their babies"
• Myth 7: The average life expectancy of males is 6 years less than females
• Myth 8: New Zealand has 3 million people and 60 million sheep
• Myth 9: The Brain Drain
• Myth 10: There are at least 1 million New Zealanders living overseas
• Myth 11: "There are more people alive now than have ever lived"
• Myth 12: "New Zealand is in the midst of a baby boom"