Urban rural 2023 update

UR 2023 is the first major update of the geography since it was first created in 2018. The update is to ensure UR geographies are relevant and meet criteria before each five-yearly population and dwelling census. UR 2023 contains 13 new rural settlements and 7 new small urban areas. Updates were made to reflect real world change including new subdivisions and motorways, and to improve delineation of urban areas and rural settlements. The Wānaka urban area, whose population has grown to be more than 10,000 based on population estimates, has been reclassified to a medium urban area in the 2023 urban rural indicator.

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In the 2023 classification there are:

• 7 major urban areas
• 13 large urban areas
• 23 medium urban areas
• 152 small urban areas
• 402 rural settlements.

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This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released urban rural (UR) boundaries as at 1 January 2023 as defined by Stats NZ. This version contains 745 UR areas, including 195 urban areas and 402 rural settlements.

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Urban rural (UR) is an output geography that classifies New Zealand into areas that share common urban or rural characteristics and is used to disseminate a broad range of Stats NZ’s social, demographic and economic statistics.

The UR separately identifies urban areas, rural settlements, other rural areas, and water areas. Urban areas and rural settlements are form-based geographies delineated by the inspection of aerial imagery, local government land designations on district plan maps, address registers, property title data, and any other available information. However, because the underlying meshblock pattern is used to define the geographies, boundaries may not align exactly with local government land designations or what can be seen in aerial images. Other rural areas, and bodies of water represent areas not included within an urban area.

Urban areas are built from the statistical area 2 (SA2) geography, while rural and water areas are built from the statistical area 1 (SA1) geography.

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Non-digitised

The following 4 non-digitised UR areas have been aggregated from the 16 non-digitised meshblocks/SA2s.

6901; Oceanic outside region, 6902; Oceanic oil rigs, 6903; Islands outside region, 6904; Ross Dependency outside region.

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UR numbering and naming

Each urban area and rural settlement is a single geographic entity with a name and a numeric code.

Other rural areas, inland water areas, and inlets are defined by territorial authority; oceanic areas are defined by regional council; and each have a name and a numeric code.

Urban rural codes have four digits. North Island locations start with a 1, South Island codes start with a 2, oceanic codes start with a 6 and non-digitised codes start with 69.

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Urban rural indicator (IUR)

The accompanying urban rural indicator (IUR) classifies the urban, rural, and water areas by type. Urban areas are further classified by the size of their estimated resident population:

• major urban area – 100,000 or more residents,
• large urban area – 30,000–99,999 residents,
• medium urban area – 10,000–29,999 residents,
• small urban area – 1,000–9,999 residents.

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This was based on 2018 Census data and 2021 population estimates. Their IUR status (urban area size/rural settlement) may change if the 2023 Census population count moves them up or down a category.

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The indicators, by name, with their codes in brackets, are:

urban area – major urban (11), large urban (12), medium urban (13), small urban (14),

rural area – rural settlement (21), rural other (22),

water – inland water (31), inlet (32), oceanic (33).

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The urban rural indicator complements the urban rural geography and is an attribute in this dataset. Further information on the urban rural indicator is available on the Stats NZ classification and coding tool ARIA.

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For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023.

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Generalised version

This generalised version has been simplified for rapid drawing and is designed for thematic or web mapping purposes.

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Macrons

Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The column name for those without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.

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Digital data

Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.

To download geographic classifications in table formats such as CSV please use Ariā

New Zealand NZ: Rural Population: % of Total Population data was reported at 13.534 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 13.600 % for 2016. New Zealand NZ: Rural Population: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 15.613 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 24.002 % in 1960 and a record low of 13.534 % in 2017. New Zealand NZ: Rural Population: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s New Zealand – Table NZ.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

These datasets are concordance files that link the Geographic Classification for Health (GCH) to statistical geographies and geographic units commonly used in health research and analysis in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). More information about the develppment of the GCH is available in our Open Access publication. Our long-term aim is the comprehensive and accurate understanding of urban-rural variation in health outcomes and healthcare utilization at both national and regional levels. This is best achieved by the widespread uptake of the GCH by health researchers and health policy makers. The GCH is straightforward to use and most users will only need the relevant concordance file.
Statistical Area 1s (SA1s, small statistical areas which are the output geography for population data) were used as the building blocks for the Geographic Classification for Health (GCH) and are the preferred small areas when undertaking the analysis of health data using the GCH. It is however appreciated that a lot of health data is not available at the SA1 level and GCH concordance files are also available for Domicile (Census Area Units, CAU) and Statistical Area 2s (SA2) and Meshblock. The following concordance files are available in excel format:

SA12018_to_GCH2018.csv This concordance file applies a GCH category to each SA1 in NZ SA22018_to_GCH2018.csv This concordance file applies a GCH category to each SA2 in NZ MoH_HDOM_to_GCH2018.csv This concordance file applies a GCH category to each Domicile in NZ. Please read the additional information below if you plan to use this concordance file. MoH_MB_to_GCH2018.csv This concordance file applies a GCH category to each Meshblock in NZ. Please read the additional information below if you plan to use this concordance file.

Additional information relating to geographic units used by the Ministry of Health:

MoH_HDOM_to_GCH2018.csv This file has been designed specifically to add GCH to the Ministry of Health (MoH) datasets containing Domicile codes. Use this file if your dataset contains only Domicile codes. If your dataset also contains Meshblock codes, then use the MoH Meshblock to GCH concordance file. This file includes 2006 and 2013 domicile codes. The 2013 domiciles are still current as of 2022, and this file will still work well with data outside those years. Domicile boundaries do not align well with SA1 boundaries, and longitudinal health data usually contains some older Domiciles which have been phased out and replaced with multiple smaller Domiciles. These deprecated Domiciles may overlap multiple SA1s. Usually, all such SA1s belong to the same GCH category. Occasionally, a Domicile will overlap more than one GCH category. When this happens, we have assigned the GCH category to which the majority of people living in that Domicile belong. By necessity, this will allocate a minority of people in those Domiciles to a GCH category to which they do not belong.
MoH_MB_to_GCH2018.csv This file has been designed specifically to add GCH to Ministry of Health (MoH) datasets containing Meshblock codes. This file includes 2018, 2013, 2006, and 2001 Meshblock codes, but will still work well with data outside those years. Meshblock boundaries from census 2018 fit perfectly and completely within the Statistics New Zealand Statistical Area 1s (SA1) boundaries on which GCH is based. However, longitudinal health data usually contains some older Meshblocks which have been phased out and replaced by multiple smaller Meshblocks. These deprecated Meshblocks may overlap multiple SA1s. Usually, all such SA1s belong to the same GCH category. Occasionally, a Meshblock will overlap more than one GCH category. When this happens, we have assigned the GCH category to which the majority of people living in that Meshblock belong. By necessity, this will allocate a minority of people in those Meshblocks to a GCH category to which they do not belong.

Topicality: 01-01-2025Projection: New Zealand Transverse Mercator (NZTM)This layer contains the archive of urban-rural indicator areas as defined by Stats NZ. Urban rural is an output geography that classifies New Zealand into areas that share common urban or rural characteristics and is used to disseminate a broad range of Stats NZ’s social, demographic and economic statistics. The urban rural geography separately identifies urban areas, rural settlements, other rural areas, and water areas. The urban areas represent densely developed spaces, and encompass residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. Rural settlements, other rural areas, and bodies of water represent areas not included within an urban area.This layer gets updated yearly with the latest boundary data. A layer with the full archive of the data for all the available years is available here.For information about the fields in this dataset go to the Data tab.Urban Rural indicator classesurban area:urban major (11)urban large (12)urban medium (13)urban small (14)rural area:rural settlement (21)rural other (22)water:inland water (31)inlet (32)oceanic (33)The layer is further generalised by Eagle Technology for improved performance on the web, therefore it doesn't fully represent the official boundaries.The official dataset can be found on https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz.This layer is offered by Eagle Technology (Official Esri Distributor). Eagle Technology offers services that can be used in the ArcGIS platform. The Content team at Eagle Technology updates the layers on a regular basis and regularly adds new content to the Living Atlas. By using this content and combining it with other data you can create new information products quickly and easily.If you have any questions or comments about the content, please let us now at livingatlas@eagle.co.nz

Topicality: 01-01-2023Projection: New Zealand Transverse Mercator (NZTM)This layer contains the latest set of the functional urban areas as maintained by StatsNZ and defined by StatsNZ.The functional urban area (FUA) classification identifies small urban areas and rural areas that are integrated with major, large, and medium urban areas to create FUAs. The FUA classification uses the urban rural (UR) geography to demarcate urban areas, and statistical area 1 areas(SA1s) to demarcate surrounding hinterland (the commuting zone) within FUAs, and rural and water areas outside FUAs.This layer get updated yearly with the latest boundary data. You can use this layer when you need any year of boundary data in your map. By setting a filter on the dataset year you can filter on specific year of the dataset.For information about the fields in this dataset go to the Data tabFUA type (TFUA)FUAs are further categorised by population size. The urban core’s population rather than the entire FUA’s population is used to maintain consistency between the descriptions of UR urban area and FUA type. The categories are, by code: ​1. Metropolitan area – more than 100,000 residents living in the urban core2. Large regional centre – urban core population 30,000–99,9993. Medium regional centre – urban core population 10,000–29,9994. Small regional centre – urban core population 5,000–9,9999. Area outside functional urban area​The Greymouth urban area population is less than 10,000 but is classified as a medium regional centre, consistent with its treatment as a medium urban area in the UA classification. ​To differentiate from the UR classification, when referring to FUAs by name, their FUA type should also be mentioned, for example, Christchurch metropolitan area, Whangarei regional centre. ​FUA indicator (IFUA)The IFUA classifies UR2023 urban areas and rural SA1s according to their character within their FUA. The indicators, with their codes in brackets, are: urban area within functional urban area – urban core (101), secondary urban core (102), satellite urban area (103),rural area within functional urban area – hinterland (201)area outside functional urban area – land area outside functional urban area (901), water area outside functional urban area (902).About the layerThis layer get updated yearly with the latest boundary data.A layer with the full archive of the data for all the available years is available here.For information about the fields in this dataset go to the Data tab.The layer is further generalised by Eagle Technology for improved performance on the web, therefore it doesn't fully represent the official boundaries.The official dataset can be found on https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz.This layer is offered by Eagle Technology (Official Esri Distributor). Eagle Technology offers services that can be used in the ArcGIS platform. The Content team at Eagle Technology updates the layers on a regular basis and regularly adds new content to the Living Atlas. By using this content and combining it with other data you can create new information products quickly and easily.If you have any questions or comments about the content, please let us now at livingatlas@eagle.co.nz

New Zealand NZ: Rural Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Population data was reported at 0.979 % in 2010. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.985 % for 2000. New Zealand NZ: Rural Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.985 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.001 % in 1990 and a record low of 0.979 % in 2010. New Zealand NZ: Rural Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s New Zealand – Table NZ.World Bank: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Rural population below 5m is the percentage of the total population, living in areas where the elevation is 5 meters or less.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Weighted Average;

Important Note: This item is in mature support as of January 2024 and will retire in January 2025. When you need the most recent boundary layer please use this item. When you need the boundaries for a specific year, please use this item and set a filter on the required year.Topicality: 01-01-2021Projection: New Zealand Transverse Mercator (NZTM)This layer is based on the dataset UR12021 (clipped) retrieved from Stats NZ. Urban rural is an output geography that classifies New Zealand into areas that share common urban or rural characteristics and is used to disseminate a broad range of Stats NZ’s social, demographic and economic statistics. The urban rural geography separately identifies urban areas, rural settlements, other rural areas, and water areas. The urban areas represent densely developed spaces, and encompass residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. Rural settlements, other rural areas, and bodies of water represent areas not included within an urban area.This layer shows the data for 2021. If you would like to use the layer that gets updated yearly with the latest boundary data, you can use this item.All the boundary layers can be found here.All the boundary layers that are updated yearly can be found here.The official dataset can be found on https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz.This layer contains the following attributes (see data tab):Urban Rural numberUrban Rural nameUrban Rural Indicator codeUrban Rural Indicator description Total area in square kilometersTotal land area in square kilometers.Urban Rural indicator classesurban area:urban major (11)urban large (12)urban medium (13)urban small (14)rural area:rural settlement (21)rural other (22)water:inland water (31)inlet (32)oceanic (33)The layer is further generalised by Eagle Technology for improved performance on the web, therefore it doesn't fully represent the official boundaries.This layer is offered by Eagle Technology (Official Esri Distributor). Eagle Technology offers services that can be used in the ArcGIS platform. The Content team at Eagle Technology updates the layers on a regular basis and regularly adds new content to the Living Atlas. By using this content and combining it with other data you can create new information products quickly and easily.If you have any questions or comments about the content, please let us now at livingatlas@eagle.co.nz

New Zealand NZ: Rural Population data was reported at 653,648.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 641,936.000 Person for 2016. New Zealand NZ: Rural Population data is updated yearly, averaging 546,470.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 653,648.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 508,061.000 Person in 1990. New Zealand NZ: Rural Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s New Zealand – Table NZ.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2014 Revision.; Sum;

New Zealand NZ: Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Population data was reported at 4.233 % in 2010. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.233 % for 2000. New Zealand NZ: Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 4.233 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.387 % in 1990 and a record low of 4.233 % in 2010. New Zealand NZ: Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s New Zealand – Table NZ.World Bank: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Population below 5m is the percentage of the total population living in areas where the elevation is 5 meters or less.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Weighted Average;

2023 Functional Urban Area update

For the 2023 FUA, there have been minor updates from the 2018 FUAs to align with changes to urban rural (UR) boundaries and statistical area 1 (SA1) composition. FUA 2023 is still based on the analysis of 2018 Census of Population and Dwellings commuting data. The Wanaka urban area, whose population has grown to be more than 10,000 based on population estimates, has been reclassified to a medium urban area in the 2023 UR and a medium regional centre in the FUA type.

Description

This dataset is the definitive version of the Functional Urban Area boundaries as at 1 January 2023, as defined by Stats NZ.

The functional urban area (FUA) classification identifies small urban areas and rural areas that are integrated with major, large, and medium urban areas to create FUAs. In 2023, there are 53 FUAs,excluding ‘land area outside functional urban area’ (9001) and ‘water area outside functional urban area’ (9002). The FUA classificationuses the urban rural (UR) geography to demarcate urban areas, and statistical area 1 areas(SA1s) to demarcate surrounding hinterland (the commuting zone) within FUAs, and rural and water areas outside FUAs.

FUAs represent a populated urban core/s and its commuting zone. Workplace address and usual residence address data from the 2018 Census of Population and Dwellings were used to identify satellite urban areas (1,000–4,999 residents), rural settlements and other rural SA1s from which at least 40 percent of workers commuted to urban areas with more than 5,000 residents.

FUA numbering and naming

The FUA classification identifies FUAs by the name of the most highly populated urban area it contains, for example, the Christchurch FUA includes the Christchurch urban core and Rangiora, Kaiapoi, and Rolleston secondary urban cores. There is one exception to the naming rule. The Paraparaumu-Waikanae-Paekakariki conurbation and surrounding hinterland is named Kapiti Coast.

The FUA classification has a two-level hierarchical structure, joined together to create each FUA code. Level 1 is classified by FUA type (TFUA) a one-digit code and level 2, which has three-digit codes numbered approximately north to south. Some examples are: 1001 Auckland, 2001 Whangārei, 3001 Cambridge, and 4001 Kaitāia.

FUA type (TFUA)

FUAs are further categorised by population size. The urban core’s population rather than the entire FUA’s population is used to maintain consistency between the descriptions of UR urban area and FUA type. The categories are, by code:

1 Metropolitan area – more than 100,000 residents living in the urban core,

2 Large regional centre – urban core population 30,000–99,999,

3 Medium regional centre – urban core population 10,000–29,999,

4 Small regional centre – urban core population 5,000–9,999, and,

9 Area outside functional urban area.

The Greymouth urban area population is less than 10,000 but is classified as a medium regional centre, consistent with its treatment as a medium urban area in the UA classification.

To differentiate from the UR classification, when referring to FUAs by name, their FUA type should also be mentioned, for example, Christchurch metropolitan area, Whangarei regional centre.

FUA indicator (IFUA)

The IFUA classifies UR2023 urban areas and rural SA1s according to their character within their FUA. The indicators, with their codes in brackets, are:

• urban area within functional urban area – urban core (101), secondary urban core (102), satellite urban area (103),

• rural area within functional urban area – hinterland (201),

• area outside functional urban area – land area outside functional urban area (901), water area outside functional urban area (902).

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Further information on the urban rural indicator is available on the Stats NZ classification tool Ariā.

For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023.

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Generalised version

This generalised version has been simplified for rapid drawing and is designed for thematic or web mapping purposes.

​

Macrons

Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The column name for those without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.

​

Digital data

Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.

New Zealand NZ: Rural Population Growth data was reported at 1.808 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.822 % for 2016. New Zealand NZ: Rural Population Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 0.227 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.585 % in 1991 and a record low of -1.258 % in 1988. New Zealand NZ: Rural Population Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s New Zealand – Table NZ.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2014 Revision.; Weighted average;

Important Note: This item is in mature support as of January 2024 and will retire in January 2025. When you need the most recent boundary layer please use this item. When you need the boundaries for a specific year, please use this item and set a filter on the required year.Topicality: 01-01-2018Projection: New Zealand Transverse Mercator (NZTM)This layer is based on the dataset UR12018 (clipped) retrieved from Stat NZ. Urban rural is an output geography that classifies New Zealand into areas that share common urban or rural characteristics and is used to disseminate a broad range of Stats NZ’s social, demographic and economic statistics. The urban rural geography separately identifies urban areas, rural settlements, other rural areas, and water areas. The urban areas represent densely developed spaces, and encompass residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. Rural settlements, other rural areas, and bodies of water represent areas not included within an urban area.The official dataset and metadata can be found on https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz.This layer contains the following attributes (see data tab):Urban Rural numberUrban Rural nameUrban Rural Indicator codeUrban Rural Indicator description Total area in square kilometersTotal land area in square kilometers.Urban Rural indicator classesurban area:urban major (11)urban large (12)urban medium (13)urban small (14)rural area:rural settlement (21)rural other (22)water:inland water (31)inlet (32)oceanic (33)The layer is further generalised by Eagle Technology for improved performance on the web, therefore it doesn't fully represent the official boundaries.This layer is offered by Eagle Technology (Official Esri Distributor). Eagle Technology offers services that can be used in the ArcGIS platform. The Content team at Eagle Technology updates the layers on a regular basis and regularly adds new content to the Living Atlas. By using this content and combining it with other data you can create new information products quickly and easily.If you have any questions or comments about the content, please let us now at livingatlas@eagle.co.nz

The Population data table is part of NZ Suburbs and Localities Dataset. This table contains the population estimate for each suburb and locality, provided by StatsNZ.

NZ Suburbs and Localities is an easy to use layer generated from the normalised NZ Suburbs and Localities Dataset. It describes the spatial extent and name of communities in urban areas (suburbs) and rural areas (localities) for navigation and location purposes.

The suburb and locality boundaries cover New Zealand including North Island, South Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura, Chatham Islands, and nearby offshore islands.

Each suburb and locality is assigned a name, major name, Territorial Authority and, if appropriate, additional in use names. A population estimate is provided for each suburb and locality by Stats NZ.

For more information please refer to the NZ Suburbs and Localities Guidance documents:

Data Dictionary Change Request Process Change Request Principles, Requirements and Rules Changes to NZ Suburbs and Localities can be requested by emailing addresses@linz.govt.nz

Topicality: 01-01-2025Projection: New Zealand Transverse Mercator (NZTM)This layer contains the latest set of statistical area 3 (SA3) boundaries maintained by Stats NZ and as defined by Stats NZ. Statistical area 3 (SA3) is a new output geography, introduced in 2023 that allows aggregations of population data between the SA2 and territorial authority geography.The SA3 geography aims to meet three purposes:approximate suburbs in major, large, and medium urban areas,in predominantly rural areas, provide geographical areas that are larger in area and population size than SA2s but smaller than territorial authorities,minimise data suppression.About the layerThis layer gets updated yearly with the latest boundary data. A layer with the full archive of the data for all the available years is available here.For information about the fields in this dataset go to the Data tab.The layer is further generalised by Eagle Technology for improved performance on the web, therefore it doesn't fully represent the official boundaries.The official dataset can be found on https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz.This layer is offered by Eagle Technology (Official Esri Distributor). Eagle Technology offers services that can be used in the ArcGIS platform. The Content team at Eagle Technology updates the layers on a regular basis and regularly adds new content to the Living Atlas. By using this content and combining it with other data you can create new information products quickly and easily.If you have any questions or comments about the content, please let us now at livingatlas@eagle.co.nz.

NZ Suburbs and Localities describes the spatial extent and name of communities in urban areas (suburbs) and rural areas (localities) for navigation and location purposes.

The suburb and locality boundaries cover New Zealand including North Island, South Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura, Chatham Islands, and nearby offshore islands.

Each suburb and locality is assigned a name, major name, Territorial Authority and, if appropriate, additional in use names. A population estimate is provided for each suburb and locality by Stats NZ.

For more information please refer to the NZ Suburbs and Localities Data Dictionary and the LINZ Website

Changes to NZ Suburbs and Localities can be requested by emailing addresses@linz.govt.nz

Change Request Guidance Documents: - Change Request Process - Change Request Principles, Requirements and Rules

APIs and web services

This dataset is available via ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS REST services, as well as our standard APIs. LDS APIs and OGC web services ArcGIS Online map services

Topicality: 01-01-2025Projection: New Zealand Transverse Mercator (NZTM)This layer contains the archive of the meshblock boundaries maintained by Stats NZ as defined by Stats NZ. Stats NZ maintains an annual meshblock pattern for collecting and producing statistical data. This allows data to be compared over time. A meshblock is the smallest geographic unit for which statistical data is collected and processed by Stats NZ. A meshblock is defined by a geographic area, which can vary in size from part of a city block to a large area of rural land.This layer get updated yearly with the latest boundary data. You can use this layer when you need any year of boundary data in your map. By setting a filter on the dataset year you can filter on specific year of the dataset.For information about the fields in this dataset go to the Data tab.The layer is further generalised by Eagle Technology for improved performance on the web, therefore it doesn't fully represent the official boundaries.If you only need the latest boundary data in your map you can use the current version of this dataset. All the current versions of Stats NZ Boundary layers can be found here.The official dataset can be found on https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz.This layer is offered by Eagle Technology (Official Esri Distributor). Eagle Technology offers services that can be used in the ArcGIS platform. The Content team at Eagle Technology updates the layers on a regular basis and regularly adds new content to the Living Atlas. By using this content and combining it with other data you can create new information products quickly and easily.If you have any questions or comments about the content, please let us now at livingatlas@eagle.co.nz.

Important Note: This item is in mature support as of January 2024 and will retire in January 2025. When you need the most recent boundary layer please use this item. When you need the boundaries for a specific year, please use this item and set a filter on the required year.Topicality: 01-01-2018Projection: New Zealand Transverse Mercator (NZTM)This layer is based on the dataset Meshblock 2018 (MB2018) from Stats NZ. Stat NZ maintains an annual meshblock pattern for collecting and producing statistical data. This allows data to be compared over time. A meshblock is the smallest geographic unit for which statistical data is collected and processed by Stats NZ. A meshblock is defined by a geographic area, which can vary in size from part of a city block to a large area of rural land.The official dataset can be found on https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz.This layer contains the following attributes (see data tab):Meshblock numberMeshblock nameTotal area in square kilometersTotal land area in square kilometersThe layer is further generalised by Eagle Technology for improved performance on the web, therefore it doesn't fully represent the official boundaries.This layer is offered by Eagle Technology (Official Esri Distributor). Eagle Technology offers services that can be used in the ArcGIS platform. The Content team at Eagle Technology updates the layers on a regular basis and regularly adds new content to the Living Atlas. By using this content and combining it with other data you can create new information products quickly and easily.If you have any questions or comments about the content, please let us now at livingatlas@eagle.co.nz.