Marlborough has one of the highest growth rates in the country as people escape the rat race, the latest Census reveals.

The provisional results just released show the region has had a 7.9 percent population increase since 2001, the third highest in the nation after Auckland and Canterbury.

Marlborough now has 45,900 people, according to the Census count. That is up 3369 people.

The figures released yesterday provide an early indication of the number of people that Statistics New Zealand believes to have been in different areas on Census night and do not measure the number actually living in an area.

However, other figures show the rise likely reflects a true increase in population.

Marlborough's birth rate has held steady for the past decade, bucking the national downward trend, and some school principals say rolls are on the rise.

Newcomers and returnees to the region list lifestyle, climate and proximity to family as reasons for moving here.

Marlborough Regional Devel-opment Trust chief executive Tony Smale said the population increase was important to ensure the region retained its share of national services.

"We have to be aiming to grow at least at the same rate as our neighbours, Nelson and Tasman, to retain equity in receipt of services, which can be quite a battle at the best of times," he said.

He put the increase down to developing industries and the fact the region was seen as a good place to live and bring up children.

"I think a lot of people who have been successful in their earlier career are choosing to step out of the rat race," he said.

Nelson Marlborough District Health Board communications coordinator Katherine Rock said the region had a steady average of 465 births per year over the past decade, bucking a national downward trend. The number of births peaked in 1997 at 500, but that could be attributed to the air force's relocation to the district that year, Ms Rock said.

Queen Charlotte College principal Tom Parsons said the school had experienced a 10 percent roll increase this year, with the new students being spread across the age groups.

"That means we're either getting a lot of big families, or more people are moving into the area with school-aged children. It's unusual for students at NCEA level to transfer schools," he said.

Fairhall School principal Simon Heath said the school had been "growing quietly" over the last couple of years.

Mr Heath said the number of families immigrating from England to Marlborough had become more noticeable over the last year.

"I've asked them why they moved, and they say 'look around you'. They come for the scenery, the lifestyle, the climate and the people."

Troy and Joanna Hart moved to Blenheim last year from Auckland's North Shore to be close to Joanna's family. The move had made life easier, Joanna said.

The part-time nurse appreciated help she had received from family looking after her eight-month old twins Monique and Poppy.

"If we'd stayed in Auckland, I would have had to work full time to pay for the childcare," she said.

Former New Zealand rowers Kate Paterson and Craig Harper moved to Blenheim 18 months ago after living in Cambridge and Wanganui.

Ms Paterson said Mr Harper's parents and sister and brother-in-law were now considering moving to the area after visiting the couple.

Ms Paterson, who runs her own massage therapy business, said the lifestyle, climate and size of the town appealed.

"When you've done so much travelling overseas you realise what we have in New Zealand and seek out where you want to be," she said.

There were 4,116,900 people counted in New Zealand on census night, up 7.8 percent from the 2001 Census.

The South Island provisional Census night population topped one million for the first time.

The Nelson region Census night population grew by 3.1 percent to 44,900 and the Tasman region grew by 6.3 percent to 4842.