With a zero rate of new infections from COVID-19, New Zealand has become the poster child for managing the pandemic. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that the country is now more populous than it has ever been. A surge in returning citizens, combined with local inability and reluctance to move overseas for work, has pushed the Pacific nation’s population above 5 million people for the first time. Annual migrant arrivals of New Zealand citizens hit a record 42,800 for the year ended March 2020, with almost half arriving between December 2019 and March 2020, said Stats NZ on Monday. “Net migration has been boosted by more New Zealand citizens returning home after living overseas,” said Brooke Theyers, population insights senior manager. “At the same time, New Zealand citizens may have been unable or reluctant to head offshore.” Demographers say the surge in net migration is likely to unwind when international travel picks up. Just 21 people have died from the virus in New Zealand.