It's not quite two girls for every guy, but Statistics NZ found females have the edge in its latest population figures.

The agency says the population grew by 29,600 (0.7%) in 2011.

Natural increase and net migration contributed 31,400 and -1,900, respectively.

At 31 December 2011:

• The estimated resident population of New Zealand was 4.42 million.
• The population comprised 2.17 million males and 2.25 million females.
• There were 97 males for every 100 females.
• The median ages for males and females were 35.6 and 38.0 years, respectively.

Click table to enlarge.