The total population in New Zealand was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.5 million people (+9.33 percent). After the tenth consecutive increasing year, the total population is estimated to reach 5.84 million people and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the total population was continuously increasing over the past years.According to the International Monetary Fund, the total population of a country consists of all persons falling within the scope of the census.Find more key insights for the total population in countries like Kiribati, Vanuatu, and Samoa.

Chart and table of New Zealand population density from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Population ages 15-64, female in New Zealand was reported at 1695597 Persons in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. New Zealand - Population ages 15-64, female - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2025.

Population ages 15-64, male (% of male population) in New Zealand was reported at 65.15 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. New Zealand - Population ages 15-64, male (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2025.

In 1820, the islands of present-day New Zealand had a population of approximately 100,000 people. This figure would fall until the early 1840s, partly as a result of European diseases brought by colonizers, and a series of destructive inter-tribal wars among the Māori peoples. These conflicts were named the Musket Wars due to the European weapons whose introduction instigated the conflicts, and the wars saw the deaths of between 20,000 and 40,000 Māori, from 1807 to 1837. After falling to just 82 thousand in the 1840s, the population would begin to rise again in 1841 following the establishment of New Zealand as an official British colony, with a strong promotion of European settlement by British citizens sponsored by the Church of England. European migration to New Zealand was low in these early decades, but increased in the mid-19th century, particularly following the discovery of gold in New Zealand’s South Island in the 1860s. This growth would continue throughout the 1870s, in part the result of a strong promotion of mass migration from Britain by Premier Julius Vogel’s administration.

Early 20th century However, between 1881 and the 1920s, the New Zealand government heavily restricted Asiatic migration to the islands, resulting in a fall of population growth rate, which would remain until the Second World War. The country would experience a dip in population during the First World War, in which New Zealand would suffer approximately 18,000 military fatalities, and another 9,000 lost to the coinciding Spanish Flu epidemic. The population would stagnate again in the Second World War, which resulted in the death of almost 12,000 New Zealanders. In the years following the war, New Zealand would see a significant increase in population due to the mixture of a baby boom and a migrant spike from Europe and Asia, following a large demand for unskilled labor. Recent decades This increase continued for several decades, until international factors, such as the oil crises of 1973 and 1979, and the UK's accession to the European Economic Communities (which ended most of New Zealand's trade agreements with Britain; it's largest trade partner), greatly weakened New Zealand's economy in the 1970s. As a result, population growth stagnated during the 1970s, while economic problems persisted into the early 2000s. In contrast, the Great Recession of 2008 did not impact New Zealand as severely as most other developed nations, which allowed the economy to emerge as one of the fastest growing in the world, also leading to dropped unemployment levels and increased living standards. In 2020, with a population of almost five million people, New Zealand is regarded as one of the top countries in the world in terms of human development, quality of life and social freedoms.

Population ages 10-14, female (% of female population) in New Zealand was reported at 6.2923 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. New Zealand - Population ages 10-14, female (% of female population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2025.

Refer to the current geographies boundaries table for a list of all current geographies and recent updates. This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released statistical area 2 (SA2) boundaries as at 1 January 2025 as defined by Stats NZ. This version contains 2,395 SA2s (2,379 digitised and 16 with empty or null geometries (non-digitised)). SA2 is an output geography that provides higher aggregations of population data than can be provided at the statistical area 1 (SA1) level. The SA2 geography aims to reflect communities that interact together socially and economically. In populated areas, SA2s generally contain similar sized populations. The SA2 should: form a contiguous cluster of one or more SA1s, excluding exceptions below, allow the release of multivariate statistics with minimal data suppression, capture a similar type of area, such as a high-density urban area, farmland, wilderness area, and water area, be socially homogeneous and capture a community of interest. It may have, for example: a shared road network, shared community facilities, shared historical or social links, or socio-economic similarity, ​ form a nested hierarchy with statistical output geographies and administrative boundaries. It must: be built from SA1s, either define or aggregate to define SA3s, urban areas, territorial authorities, and regional councils. SA2s in city council areas generally have a population of 2,000–4,000 residents while SA2s in district council areas generally have a population of 1,000–3,000 residents. In major urban areas, an SA2 or a group of SA2s often approximates a single suburb. In rural areas, rural settlements are included in their respective SA2 with the surrounding rural area. SA2s in urban areas where there is significant business and industrial activity, for example ports, airports, industrial, commercial, and retail areas, often have fewer than 1,000 residents. These SA2s are useful for analysing business demographics, labour markets, and commuting patterns. In rural areas, some SA2s have fewer than 1,000 residents because they are in conservation areas or contain sparse populations that cover a large area. To minimise suppression of population data, small islands with zero or low populations close to the mainland, and marinas are generally included in their adjacent land-based SA2. Zero or nominal population SA2s To ensure that the SA2 geography covers all of New Zealand and aligns with New Zealand’s topography and local government boundaries, some SA2s have zero or nominal populations. These include: SA2s where territorial authority boundaries straddle regional council boundaries. These SA2s each have fewer than 200 residents and are: Arahiwi, Tiroa, Rangataiki, Kaimanawa, Taharua, Te More, Ngamatea, Whangamomona, and Mara. SA2s created for single islands or groups of islands that are some distance from the mainland or to separate large unpopulated islands from urban areas SA2s that represent inland water, inlets or oceanic areas including: inland lakes larger than 50 square kilometres, harbours larger than 40 square kilometres, major ports, other non-contiguous inlets and harbours defined by territorial authority, and contiguous oceanic areas defined by regional council. SA2s for non-digitised oceanic areas, offshore oil rigs, islands, and the Ross Dependency. Each SA2 is represented by a single meshblock. The following 16 SA2s are held in non-digitised form (SA2 code; SA2 name): 400001; New Zealand Economic Zone, 400002; Oceanic Kermadec Islands, 400003; Kermadec Islands, 400004; Oceanic Oil Rig Taranaki, 400005; Oceanic Campbell Island, 400006; Campbell Island, 400007; Oceanic Oil Rig Southland, 400008; Oceanic Auckland Islands, 400009; Auckland Islands, 400010 ; Oceanic Bounty Islands, 400011; Bounty Islands, 400012; Oceanic Snares Islands, 400013; Snares Islands, 400014; Oceanic Antipodes Islands, 400015; Antipodes Islands, 400016; Ross Dependency. SA2 numbering and naming Each SA2 is a single geographic entity with a name and a numeric code. The name refers to a geographic feature or a recognised place name or suburb. In some instances where place names are the same or very similar, the SA2s are differentiated by their territorial authority name, for example, Gladstone (Carterton District) and Gladstone (Invercargill City). SA2 codes have six digits. North Island SA2 codes start with a 1 or 2, South Island SA2 codes start with a 3 and non-digitised SA2 codes start with a 4. They are numbered approximately north to south within their respective territorial authorities. To ensure the north–south code pattern is maintained, the SA2 codes were given 00 for the last two digits when the geography was created in 2018. When SA2 names or boundaries change only the last two digits of the code will change. ​ High-definition version This high definition (HD) version is the most detailed geometry, suitable for use in GIS for geometric analysis operations and for the computation of areas, centroids and other metrics. The HD version is aligned to the LINZ cadastre. ​ 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. ​ Further information To download geographic classifications in table formats such as CSV please use Ariā For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023. Contact: geography@stats.govt.nz

This statistic shows the median age of the population in New Zealand from 1950 to 2100. The median age is the age that divides a population into two numerically equal groups; that is, half the people are younger than this age and half are older. It is a single index that summarizes the age distribution of a population. In 2020, the median age of the New Zealand population was 36.5 years.

This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released statistical area 1 (SA1) boundaries as at 1 January 2025, as defined by Stats NZ. This version contains 33,164 SA1s (33,148 digitised and 16 with empty or null geometries (non-digitised)).

SA1 is an output geography that allows the release of more low-level data than is available at the meshblock level. Built by joining meshblocks, SA1s have an ideal size range of 100–200 residents, and a maximum population of about 500. This is to minimise suppression of population data in multivariate statistics tables.

The SA1 should:

form a contiguous cluster of one or more meshblocks,

be either urban, rural, or water in character,

be small enough to:

• allow flexibility for aggregation to other statistical geographies,

• allow users to aggregate areas into their own defined communities of interest,

form a nested hierarchy with statistical output geographies and administrative boundaries. It must:

• be built from meshblocks,

• either define or aggregate to define SA2s, urban rural areas, territorial authorities, and regional councils.

SA1s generally have a population of 100–200 residents, with some exceptions:

• SA1s with nil or nominal resident populations are created to represent remote mainland areas, unpopulated islands, inland water, inlets, or oceanic areas.

• Some SA1s in remote rural areas and urban industrial or business areas have fewer than 100 residents.

• Some SA1s that contain apartment blocks, retirement villages, and large non-residential facilities (prisons, boarding schools, etc.) have more than 500 residents.

SA1 numbering

SA1s are not named. SA1 codes have seven digits starting with a 7 and are numbered approximately north to south. Non-digitised codes start with 79.

As new SA1s are created, they are given the next available numeric code. If the composition of an SA1 changes through splitting or amalgamating different meshblocks, the SA1 is given a new code. The previous code no longer exists within that version and future versions of the SA1 classification.

Digitised and non-digitised SA1s

The digital geographic boundaries are defined and maintained by Stats NZ.

Aggregated from meshblocks, SA1s cover the land area of New Zealand, the water area to the 12-mile limit, the Chatham Islands, Kermadec Islands, sub-Antarctic islands, off-shore oil rigs, and Ross Dependency. The following 16 SA1s are held in non-digitised form.

7999901; New Zealand Economic Zone, 7999902; Oceanic Kermadec Islands,7999903; Kermadec Islands, 7999904; Oceanic Oil Rig Taranaki,7999905; Oceanic Campbell Island, 7999906; Campbell Island, 7999907; Oceanic Oil Rig Southland, 7999908; Oceanic Auckland Islands, 7999909; Auckland Islands, 7999910; Oceanic Bounty Islands, 7999911; Bounty Islands, 7999912; Oceanic Snares Islands, 7999913; Snares Islands, 7999914; Oceanic Antipodes Islands, 7999915; Antipodes Islands, 7999916; Ross Dependency.

​

High-definition version

This high definition (HD) version is the most detailed geometry, suitable for use in GIS for geometric analysis operations and for the computation of areas, centroids and other metrics. The HD version is aligned to the LINZ cadastre.

​

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.

​

Further information

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

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

Contact: geography@stats.govt.nz

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.

Population ages 25-29, female (% of female population) in New Zealand was reported at 6.5956 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. New Zealand - Population ages 25-29, female (% of female population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2025.

A 1 kilometre population grid using the Estimated Resident Populations (ERP) published annually, dated as at 30 June. Population estimates by Statistical Area 1s (SA1s) are used as an input to derive population grids. These estimates are not official statistics. They are derived as a customised dataset used to produce the population grids. This is one of three resolutions of the national statistical grid; 1 kilometre, 500 metres and 250 metres, where the distance is the length of one side of the square grid cell. The Estimated Resident Population (ERP) by Statistical Area 1 (SA1), rounded to the nearest 10, was proportionally divided between private and some non-private dwelling point locations from the Stats NZ Statistical Location Register. The dwellings were spatially joined to the SA1 to calculate the number of dwellings within each SA1. The SA1 ERP divided by the number of dwellings gave the number of people per dwelling for each SA1. The people per dwelling was spatially joined back to the dwelling dataset then spatially joined to the grid with the option chosen to sum the dwelling population within each grid cell. The estimated resident population of an area in New Zealand is an estimate of all people who usually live in that area at a given date. It includes all residents present in New Zealand and counted by the census, residents who are temporarily elsewhere in New Zealand and counted by the census, residents who are temporarily overseas (who are not included in the census), and an adjustment for residents missed or counted more than once by the census (net census undercount). Visitors from elsewhere in New Zealand and from overseas are excluded. Population estimates by SA1s are used as an input to derive population grids. These estimates are not official statistics. They’re derived as a customised dataset used to produce the population grids. Population estimates from 2022 and 2023 use 2018 Census data and will be revised in 2025, after 2023 Census data is available. Changes to the ERP figures for a grid cell between years, are due to either: estimated change to the residential population for an area or the following methodological factors may also increase or decrease the population estimate assigned to each grid cell; five yearly changes to the SA1 boundaries to which the ERP figures are assigned. Between 2022 and 2023, non populated areas were separated from some SA1s, resulting in fewer grid cells being populated. Changes to SA1 boundaries are designed to ensure they incorporate areas of new development, maintain the urban-rural delineation, and meet population criteria. changes to the dwelling dataset. This is the production version of a new dataset published in November 2023. The prototype version was released in October 2022 for feedback. Since the November 2023 release, population estimate field names have been updated to remove acronyms and population estimates have been reduced to two decimal places. A small number of grid cells in the 2022 ERP 1km grid were missing population, these have been amended in this update.

Refer to the current geographies boundaries table for a list of all current geographies and recent updates.

This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released statistical area 3 (SA3) boundaries as at 1 January 2025 as defined by Stats NZ. This version contains 929 SA3s, including 4 non-digitised SA3s.

The SA3 geography aims to meet three purposes:

1. approximate suburbs in major, large, and medium urban areas,

2. in predominantly rural areas, provide geographical areas that are larger in area and population size than SA2s but smaller than territorial authorities,

3. minimise data suppression.

SA3s in major, large, and medium urban areas were created by combining SA2s to approximate suburbs as delineated in the Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) Localities dataset. Some of the resulting SA3s have very large populations.

Outside of major, large, and medium urban areas, SA3s generally have populations of 5,000–10,000. These SA3s may represent either a single small urban area, a combination of small urban areas and their surrounding rural SA2s, or a combination of rural SA2s.

Zero or nominal population SA3s

To minimise the amount of unsuppressed data that can be provided in multivariate statistical tables, SA2s with fewer than 1,000 residents are combined with other SA2s wherever possible to reach the 1,000 SA3 population target. However, there are still a number of SA3s with zero or nominal populations.

Small population SA2s designed to maintain alignment between territorial authority and regional council geographies are merged with other SA2s to reach the 5,000–10,000 SA3 population target. These merges mean that some SA3s do not align with regional council boundaries but are aligned to territorial authority.

Small population island SA2s are included in their adjacent land-based SA3.

Island SA2s outside territorial authority or region are the same in the SA3 geography.

Inland water SA2s are aggregated and named by territorial authority, as in the urban rural classification.

Inlet SA2s are aggregated and named by territorial authority or regional council where the water area is outside the territorial authority.

Oceanic SA2s translate directly to SA3s as they are already aggregated to regional council.

The 16 non-digitised SA2s are aggregated to the following 4 non-digitised SA3s (SA3 code; SA3 name):

70001; Oceanic outside region, 70002; Oceanic oil rigs, 70003; Islands outside region, 70004; Ross Dependency outside region.

SA3 numbering and naming

Each SA3 is a single geographic entity with a name and a numeric code. The name refers to a suburb, recognised place name, or portion of a territorial authority. In some instances where place names are the same or very similar, the SA3s are differentiated by their territorial authority, for example, Hillcrest (Hamilton City) and Hillcrest (Rotorua District).

SA3 codes have five digits. North Island SA3 codes start with a 5, South Island SA3 codes start with a 6 and non-digitised SA3 codes start with a 7. They are numbered approximately north to south within their respective territorial authorities. When first created in 2025, the last digit of each code was 0. When SA3 boundaries change in future, only the last digit of the code will change to ensure the north-south pattern is maintained.

​

High-definition version

This high definition (HD) version is the most detailed geometry, suitable for use in GIS for geometric analysis operations and for the computation of areas, centroids and other metrics. The HD version is aligned to the LINZ cadastre.

​

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

​

Further information

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

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

Contact: geography@stats.govt.nz

The number of employed people in New Zealand was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2025 by in total 0.1 million people (+3.38 percent). After the tenth consecutive increasing year, the number is estimated to reach 3.02 million people and therefore a new peak in 2025. Notably, the number of employed people was continuously increasing over the past years.The indicator describes the number of employed people. This refers to persons who during a pre-defined period, either: a) performed wage or salary work, b) held a formal attachment to their job (even if not currently working), (c) performed for-profit work for personal or family gain, (d) were with an enterprise although temporarily not at work for any specific reason.Find more statistics on other topics about New Zealand with key insights such as ratio of the national debt to the gross domestic product, the total population, and the gross domestic product per capita.

New Zealand rural population for 2023 was 679,786, a 1.28% increase from 2022.

• New Zealand rural population for 2022 was 671,172, a 0.6% decline from 2021.
• New Zealand rural population for 2021 was 675,254, a 0.26% decline from 2020.
• New Zealand rural population for 2020 was 677,048, a 1.59% increase from 2019.

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.

New Zealand All Benefits: Working-Age Resident Population Estimate as at June data was reported at 3,258,400.000 Number in Jan 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 3,258,400.000 Number for Dec 2024. New Zealand All Benefits: Working-Age Resident Population Estimate as at June data is updated monthly, averaging 3,137,500.000 Number from Apr 2019 (Median) to Jan 2025, with 70 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,258,400.000 Number in Jan 2025 and a record low of 2,963,270.000 Number in Aug 2019. New Zealand All Benefits: Working-Age Resident Population Estimate as at June data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Social Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s New Zealand – Table NZ.G084 Monthly Benefit and Supplementary Assistance. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

Refer to the current geographies boundaries table for a list of all current geographies and recent updates.

This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released meshblock boundaries as at 1 January 2025 as defined by Stats NZ. This version contains 57,551 meshblocks, including 16 with empty or null geometries (non-digitised meshblocks).

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 a defined geographic area, which can vary in size from part of a city block to a large area of rural land. The optimal size for a meshblock is 30–60 dwellings (containing approximately 60–120 residents).

Each meshblock borders on another to form a network covering all of New Zealand, including coasts and inlets and extending out to the 200-mile economic zone (EEZ) and is digitised to the 12-mile limit. Meshblocks are added together to build up larger geographic areas such as statistical area 1 (SA1), statistical area 2 (SA2), statistical area 3 (SA3), and urban rural (UR). They are also used to define electoral districts, territorial authorities, and regional councils.

Meshblock boundaries generally follow road centrelines, cadastral property boundaries, or topographical features such as rivers. Expanses of water in the form of lakes and inlets are defined separately from land.

Meshblock maintenance

Meshblock boundaries are amended by:

1. Splitting – subdividing a meshblock into two or more meshblocks.

2. Nudging – shifting a boundary to a more appropriate position.

Reasons for meshblock splits and nudges can include:

• to maintain meshblock criteria rules.
• to improve the size balance of meshblocks in areas where there has been population growth
• to maintain alignment to cadastre and other geographic features.
• Stats NZ requests for boundary changes so that statistical geography boundaries can be moved
• external requests for boundary changes so that administrative or electoral boundaries can be moved
• to separate land and water. Mainland, inland water, islands, inlets, and oceanic are defined separately

Meshblock changes are made throughout the year. A major release is made at 1 January each year with ad hoc releases available to users at other times.

While meshblock boundaries are continually under review, 'freezes' on changes to the boundaries are applied periodically. Such 'freezes' are imposed at the time of population censuses and during periods of intense electoral activity, for example, prior and during general and local body elections.

Meshblock numbering

Meshblocks are not named and have seven-digit codes.

When meshblocks are split, each new meshblock is given a new code. The original meshblock codes no longer exist within that version and future versions of the meshblock classification. Meshblock codes do not change when a meshblock boundary is nudged.

Meshblocks that existed prior to 2015 and have not changed are numbered from 0000100 to 3210003. Meshblocks created from 2015 onwards are numbered from 4000000.

Digitised and non-digitised meshblocks

The digital geographic boundaries are defined and maintained by Stats NZ.

Meshblocks cover the land area of New Zealand, the water area to the 12mile limit, the Chatham Islands, Kermadec Islands, sub-Antarctic islands, offshore oil rigs, and Ross Dependency. The following 16 meshblocks are not held in digitised form.

Meshblock

Location (statistical area 2 name)

• 0016901 / Oceanic Kermadec Islands
• 0016902 / Kermadec Islands
• 1588000 / Oceanic Oil Rig Taranaki
• 3166401 / Oceanic Campbell Island
• 3166402 / Campbell Island
• 3166600 / Oceanic Oil Rig Southland
• 3166710 / Oceanic Auckland Islands
• 3166711 / Auckland Islands
• 3195000 / Ross Dependency
• 3196001 / New Zealand Economic Zone
• 3196002 / Oceanic Bounty Islands
• 3196003 / Bounty Islands
• 3196004 / Oceanic Snares Islands
• 3196005 / Snares Island
• 3196006 / Oceanic Antipodes Islands
• 3196007 / Antipodes Islands

​

High-definition version

This high definition (HD) version is the most detailed geometry, suitable for use in GIS for geometric analysis operations and for the computation of areas, centroids and other metrics. The HD version is aligned to the LINZ cadastre.

​

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.

​

Further information

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

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

Contact: geography@stats.govt.nz

Refer to the current geographies boundaries table for a list of all current geographies and recent updates.

Territorial authorities

Territorial Authority Local Board (TALB) is a derived classification. TALB is derived from the definitive version of the annually released local boards for Auckland and territorial authorities for the rest of New Zealand as at 1 January 2025, as defined by the territorial authorities and/or Local Government Commission and maintained by Stats NZ, clipped to the coastline. This clipped version has been created for cartographic purposes and so does not fully represent the official full extent boundaries. This version contains 21 local boards in the Auckland Council and 66 territorial authority boundaries for the rest New Zealand.

Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. They are defined under schedule 2, part 1 of the Local Government Act 2002 as city councils or district councils. Territorial authorities were established in 1989 when 205 territorial local authorities were replaced by 75 territorial authorities. Territorial boundaries must coincide with meshblock boundaries under schedule 3, clause 17 of the Local Government Act 2002.

Local boards

Local boards share governance with a council’s governing body and each has complementary responsibilities, guaranteed by legislation. Local boards can propose bylaws and they gather community views on local and regional matters. Legislation enacted in 2012 allows for the establishment of local boards in areas of new unitary authorities that are predominantly urban and have a population of more than 400,000. The boundaries of local boards cannot be abolished or changed except through a reorganisation process. If new local boards are created they will be incorporated into this classification.

Local boards are defined at meshblock level. Stats NZ must be consulted if there is a proposed boundary change that does not align with the meshblock pattern. Local boards do not coincide with the statistical area 1 (SA1), statistical area 2 (SA2) geographies, or statistical area 3 (SA3) geographies.

Auckland Council local boards

The Auckland Council was established in November 2010 under the Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Act 2009. Seven territorial authorities within the Auckland Region were abolished and replaced by the unitary authority Auckland Council. Local boards fall within the community board classification. Changes were reflected in the 2011 and subsequent community board classifications.

For statistical outputs that use territorial authorities to aggregate and report data Auckland Council is treated as a single geographic entity, whereas previously data was provided for the seven territorial authorities. Presenting data for this single territorial authority hides meaningful patterns and trends for a significant portion of the population. A solution was to create a new classification of territorial authorities that includes the local boards for Auckland.

Numbering

TALB is a flat classification. Each category has a unique five-digit code. The first three digits represent the territorial authority code, ranging from 001 to 076 (with 999 being Area Outside Territorial Authority). The last two digits indicate if the territorial authority is further defined at local board level: 00 indicates the territorial authority is “not further defined”. Auckland retains sequential codes from the community board classification.

The names for the classification are retained from the territorial authority and community board classifications.

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Clipped Version

This clipped version has been created for cartographic purposes and so does not fully represent the official full extent boundaries.

​

High-definition version

This high definition (HD) version is the most detailed geometry, suitable for use in GIS for geometric analysis operations and for the computation of areas, centroids and other metrics. The HD version is aligned to the LINZ cadastre.

​

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.

​

Further information

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

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

Contact: geography@stats.govt.nz

There were 2 528 100 Instagram users in New Zealand in February 2025, which accounted for 48.5% of its entire population. The majority of them were women - 56.8%. People aged 25 to 34 were the largest user group (756 100). The highest difference between men and women occurs within people aged 18 to 24, where women lead by 326 900.

Refer to the current geographies boundaries table for a list of all current geographies and recent updates. This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released statistical area 2 (SA2) boundaries as at 1 January 2025 as defined by Stats NZ, clipped to the coastline. This clipped version has been created for cartographic purposes and so does not fully represent the official full extent boundaries. This clipped version contains 2,311 SA2 areas. SA2 is an output geography that provides higher aggregations of population data than can be provided at the statistical area 1 (SA1) level. The SA2 geography aims to reflect communities that interact together socially and economically. In populated areas, SA2s generally contain similar sized populations. The SA2 should: form a contiguous cluster of one or more SA1s, excluding exceptions below, allow the release of multivariate statistics with minimal data suppression, capture a similar type of area, such as a high-density urban area, farmland, wilderness area, and water area, be socially homogeneous and capture a community of interest. It may have, for example: a shared road network, shared community facilities, shared historical or social links, or socio-economic similarity, form a nested hierarchy with statistical output geographies and administrative boundaries. It must: be built from SA1s, either define or aggregate to define SA3s, urban areas, territorial authorities, and regional councils. SA2s in city council areas generally have a population of 2,000–4,000 residents while SA2s in district council areas generally have a population of 1,000–3,000 residents. In major urban areas, an SA2 or a group of SA2s often approximates a single suburb. In rural areas, rural settlements are included in their respective SA2 with the surrounding rural area. SA2s in urban areas where there is significant business and industrial activity, for example ports, airports, industrial, commercial, and retail areas, often have fewer than 1,000 residents. These SA2s are useful for analysing business demographics, labour markets, and commuting patterns. In rural areas, some SA2s have fewer than 1,000 residents because they are in conservation areas or contain sparse populations that cover a large area. To minimise suppression of population data, small islands with zero or low populations close to the mainland, and marinas are generally included in their adjacent land-based SA2. Zero or nominal population SA2s To ensure that the SA2 geography covers all of New Zealand and aligns with New Zealand’s topography and local government boundaries, some SA2s have zero or nominal populations. These include: SA2s where territorial authority boundaries straddle regional council boundaries. These SA2s each have fewer than 200 residents and are: Arahiwi, Tiroa, Rangataiki, Kaimanawa, Taharua, Te More, Ngamatea, Whangamomona, and Mara. SA2s created for single islands or groups of islands that are some distance from the mainland or to separate large unpopulated islands from urban areas SA2s that represent inland water, inlets or oceanic areas including: inland lakes larger than 50 square kilometres, harbours larger than 40 square kilometres, major ports, other non-contiguous inlets and harbours defined by territorial authority, and contiguous oceanic areas defined by regional council. SA2s for non-digitised oceanic areas, offshore oil rigs, islands, and the Ross Dependency. Each SA2 is represented by a single meshblock. The following 16 SA2s are held in non-digitised form (SA2 code; SA2 name): 400001; New Zealand Economic Zone, 400002; Oceanic Kermadec Islands, 400003; Kermadec Islands, 400004; Oceanic Oil Rig Taranaki, 400005; Oceanic Campbell Island, 400006; Campbell Island, 400007; Oceanic Oil Rig Southland, 400008; Oceanic Auckland Islands, 400009; Auckland Islands, 400010 ; Oceanic Bounty Islands, 400011; Bounty Islands, 400012; Oceanic Snares Islands, 400013; Snares Islands, 400014; Oceanic Antipodes Islands, 400015; Antipodes Islands, 400016; Ross Dependency. SA2 numbering and naming Each SA2 is a single geographic entity with a name and a numeric code. The name refers to a geographic feature or a recognised place name or suburb. In some instances where place names are the same or very similar, the SA2s are differentiated by their territorial authority name, for example, Gladstone (Carterton District) and Gladstone (Invercargill City). SA2 codes have six digits. North Island SA2 codes start with a 1 or 2, South Island SA2 codes start with a 3 and non-digitised SA2 codes start with a 4. They are numbered approximately north to south within their respective territorial authorities. To ensure the north–south code pattern is maintained, the SA2 codes were given 00 for the last two digits when the geography was created in 2018. When SA2 names or boundaries change only the last two digits of the code will change. ​ Clipped Version This clipped version has been created for cartographic purposes and so does not fully represent the official full extent boundaries. ​ High-definition version This high definition (HD) version is the most detailed geometry, suitable for use in GIS for geometric analysis operations and for the computation of areas, centroids and other metrics. The HD version is aligned to the LINZ cadastre. ​ 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. Further information To download geographic classifications in table formats such as CSV please use Ariā For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023. Contact: geography@stats.govt.nz