New Zealand's population has now officially reached 4.5 million.

The milestone was reached when Daksh Chandel, born to Tongan and Indian parents, came under the New Zealand skies.

Jo-Anne Skinner, Statistics New Zealand population estimates and projections manager, said the 4.5 million mark differed from the 4.24 million Kiwis data on Census night in March.

That particular data didn't include New Zealanders who were overseas, including people who did not fill out and submit their forms.

A newly-born baby girl, Jolanda, smiles into the camera after her mother, Susan, gave birth to her on a table in the corner of the cityhall in Palo, Leyte, some 15 km (9 miles) away from Tacloban, November 15, 2013. Life returns to normal again a week after Super Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest ever recorded, hit Leyte in the central Philippines. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

Since Census night, there have been adjustments made for births, deaths and net migration, Ms Skinner said.

"From that time there have been regular population increases and we have had nine months since that time," she said.

From the latest compilation, New Zealand is well on its way to hit the forecast five million population milestone in 2026.

Ms Skinner explained New Zealand's population grows by one person every 7 minutes 42 seconds. This is based on a birth turnover every eight minutes. Data on death is every 17 minutes 53 seconds while entry of new migrants comes at every 14 minutes 20 seconds.

Baby Daksh was born to a native Tongan mother who moved to New Zealand 14 years ago. His father is an Indian native.

Latest population statistics likewise revealed that New Zealand now hosts 213 ethnic groups from around 196 countries.

"It's a blessing for babies to be born here, in opportunity, it's a good country," Baby Daksh's mother, Siulolo'vao Tupou, said.

"We are very happy to be in this country."

Baby Daksh belongs to one of the five largest ethnic groups in the country, including New Zealand European, Maori, Chinese, Samoan and Indian.

The Chinese, Indians, and Filipinos lead the country's ethnic diversities.

"During the seven years between censuses, the Chinese population increased by 16 per cent to 171,000, the number of Indians increased by 48 per cent to 155,000 and Filipinos more than doubled to 40,000. New Zealand, and Auckland in particular, were now classified as "super diverse," Professor Paul Spoonley, Massey University humanities and social sciences research director, told NZ Herald.

"That has two aspects. One is the size of the non-majority populations - the fact that 23 per cent of Auckland is Asian - they're a very significant non-majority population. The other aspect is the number of immigrant and ethnic communities."