An all time record of 132,153 migrants arrived in New Zealand during the 12 months to August, according to the latest Statistics NZ figures.

However there were another 60,081 people who left this country on a permanent or long term basis, bringing the net gain from migration to 72,072 for the year.

China retains its top spot as the biggest source of new migrants, with a net gain of 10,658 from China and Hong Kong in the year to August, followed by India at 7278, the UK with 6725, South Africa on 4931, and 4649 from the Philippines.

In the year to August there was a net loss of 1464 New Zealand citizens, as more New Zealanders left the country long term than arrived back, and a net gain of 73,536 citizens of other countries.

Auckland remains the destination of choice for most migrants, receiving just over half (36,796) of the country's net population gain.

However almost 12,000 migrants did not state where they intended to settle when they arrived, which means it's likely that migration added a net gain of around 43,000 migrants to Auckland's population in the 12 months to August.

That will undoubtedly have added further pressure to infrastructure and key services in Auckland which are already straining at the seams, such as housing, transport, education and healthcare.

After Auckland, the preferred destinations for most migrants (where stated) were Canterbury (6640) and Wellington (3924).

By visa type, the biggest group of arrivals were on work visas 45,780, followed by 38,483 Australian and new Zealand citizens, who do not require visas, 24,167 on student visas and 16,505 on residency visas.