New Zealand Population To Reach 4,444,444

 Here is something for the trainspotters amongst you.  As a demographer of some repute I find it intriguing that New Zealand's population is set to reach 4,444,444 tomorrow.  Our population is growing by 100 people each day and will be on this number for about 15 minutes.  New Zealand is growing!  I actually remember growing up when we were around the 3.5 million.  That makes me feel old!

New Zealand's estimated population will hit the symmetrical figure of 4,444,444 some time on Thursday, Statistics New Zealand says.
"While the new resident could be a New Zealander flying home after living overseas, or a new migrant, they're most likely to be a new baby, as that's where most of our population growth is coming from," population statistics manager Andrea Blackburn said.
"It will also pass quite quickly. The population is currently growing by roughly 100 people every day, so it will only be at 4,444,444 for about quarter of an hour."
Such landmarks were quite rare, she said.
New Zealand's population hit 3,333,333 in the mid-1980s and probably won't get to 5,555,555 for another 30 years.
The symmetrical milestone puts the population very close to that of Ireland or Croatia.

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/15260894/new-zealand-population-to-hit-4-444-444/