Wellington, Dec 12 (IANS): The population of Indian ethnic group in New Zeland has risen by 48 percent to 155,000, latest census statistics show.

The Chinese population rose by 16 percent to 171,000 while the number of Filipinos more than doubled to 40,000, reports Xinhua.

New Zealand authorities said the country has more ethnic groups than there are countries in the world, with the Chinese and Indians joining the five largest groups in this year's census results.

The five largest ethnic groups were New Zealand European, Maori, Chinese, Samoan and Indian.

The smallest included Greenlander, Sardinian and Latin American Creole, Statistics New Zealand said.

"It's interesting to note that there are more ethnicities in New Zealand than there are countries in the world," an official statement said.

"What that tells us is that New Zealand is a diverse place and getting more so all the time."

New Zealand's resident population grew 5 percent to 4.24 million between 2006 and 2013.