New Zealand Population: South Island (SI) data was reported at 1,242,300.000 Person in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,226,100.000 Person for 2023. New Zealand Population: South Island (SI) data is updated yearly, averaging 1,033,700.000 Person from Jun 1996 (Median) to 2024, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,242,300.000 Person in 2024 and a record low of 921,100.000 Person in 1996. New Zealand Population: South Island (SI) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Stats NZ. The data is categorized under Global Database’s New Zealand – Table NZ.G005: Population: by Region.

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.

New Zealand Population: North Island (NI) data was reported at 4,044,600.000 Person in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 3,973,400.000 Person for 2023. New Zealand Population: North Island (NI) data is updated yearly, averaging 3,311,700.000 Person from Jun 1996 (Median) to 2024, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,044,600.000 Person in 2024 and a record low of 2,810,100.000 Person in 1996. New Zealand Population: North Island (NI) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Stats NZ. The data is categorized under Global Database’s New Zealand – Table NZ.G005: Population: by Region.

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

Refer to the 'Current Geographic Boundaries Table' layer 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

The expansion of human settlements over the past few centuries is responsible for an unprecedented number of invasive species introductions globally. An important component of biological invasion management is understanding how introduction history and post-introduction processes have jointly shaped present-day distributions and patterns of population structure, diversity, and adaptation. One example of a successful invader is the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), which was intentionally introduced to numerous countries in the 19th century, including Aotearoa New Zealand, where it has become firmly established. We used reduced-representation sequencing to characterise the genetic population structure of the European starling in New Zealand, and compared the population structure to that present in sampling locations in the native range and invasive Australian range. We found that population structure and genetic diversity patterns suggested restricted gene flow from the majority of New Zealand to the northmost sampling location (Auckland). We also profiled genetic bottlenecks and shared outlier genomic regions, which supported historical accounts of translocations between both Australian subpopulations and New Zealand, and provided evidence of which documented translocation events were more likely to have been successful. Using these results as well as historic demographic patterns, we demonstrate how genomic analysis complements even well-documented invasion histories to better understand invasion processes, with direct implication for understanding contemporary gene flow and informing invasion management. Methods Sample Collection A total of 106 starling specimen samples were obtained from various contributors within New Zealand from five geographically distinct locations between May 2022 and October 2023. Sampling covered three locations in the North Island, specifically in the Auckland region (AUK: n=18), the Manawatū-Whanganui region (WHA: n=12), the Wellington region (WEL: n=40) and two in the South Island in the Marlborough region (MRL: n=15) and Canterbury region (CAN: n=21). In addition to the newly obtained samples, we also incorporated sequence data from the native European range (Antwerp, Belgium; ANT: n=15, Newcastle, United Kingdom; NWC: n=15, Monks Wood, United Kingdom; MKW: n=15), as well as two locations from within the invasive Australian range (Orange; ORG: n=15, McLaren Vale; MLV: n=15) from a previously published Diversity Arrays Technology Pty Ltd sequencing (DArT-seq) dataset. DNA Extraction and Sequencing Extracted DNA from the newly collected New Zealand samples was sent to Diversity Arrays for sequencing. Sequencing was performed on an Illumina Hiseq2500/Novaseq6000. Raw Sequence Processing The previously published raw DArT-seq data, along with the MRL samples (January 2023 sequencing batch) were demultiplexed using stacks v2.2 process_radtags, while also discarding low quality reads (-q), reads with uncalled bases (-c), and rescuing barcodes and RAD-Tag cut sites (-r). It was not necessary to perform this step on the remainder of the new raw sequence data because DArT performed in-house demultiplexing using a proprietary bioinformatic pipeline. For all the data, we used fastp v0.23.2 to remove adapter sequences and in the same step filtered reads for a minimum Phred quality score of 22 (-q 22) and a minimum length of 40 (-l 40). Both batches of sequence data produced as part of this study were additionally length trimmed to reduce the read length of the newer sequence data to match the base length of the older sequence data (-b 69). Mapping, Variant Calling, and Filtering We used the program bwa v0.7.17 to index the reference genome S. vulgaris vAU1.0 and align the trimmed DArT reads using the bwa aln function (-B 5 to trim the first 5 base pairs of each read), which is optimised for single-end short reads. This was then followed by the bwa samse function for producing the SAM formatted output files containing the alignments and their respective base qualities. Alignments were then sorted and indexed using samtools v1.16.1, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were subsequently called and annotated using bcftools v1.16 with the mpileup (-a "DP,AD,SP", --ignore-RG) and call (-mv, -f GQ) functions. We removed known technical replicates and identified relatives from the data. vcftools v0.1.15 was used to remove indels (--remove-indels), and quality filter for a minimum site quality score of 30 (--minQ30), minimum genotype quality score of 20 (--minGQ 20), and minimum and maximum depth of coverage of 5 (--minDP 5) and 100 (--maxDP 100). Then, to account for batch effects that may impact the sequenced loci, we kept only SNPs present in at least 50% of the individuals in each sampling location. We ran one final filtering step to ensure appropriate levels of missingness and rare alleles using the following parameters: maximum missingness per site of 30% (--max-missing 0.7), minor allele count of 5 (--mac 5), and a minimum and maximum allele per locus of 2 (--min-alleles 2 --max-alleles 2), resulting in a dataset containing 19,174 SNPs and 141 individuals.

Refer to the 'Current Geographic Boundaries Table' layer 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

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 "https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=cfe52bdf2a76491d86c4f433957f2460">ArcGIS Online map services

The Major Name data table is part of NZ Suburbs and Localities Dataset. Major names describe the wider area in which the boundary is located.

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 "https://www.linz.govt.nz/products-services/data/types-linz-data/suburbs-and-localities-data">Change Request Process "https://www.linz.govt.nz/products-services/data/types-linz-data/suburbs-and-localities-data">Change Request Principles, Requirements and Rules Changes to NZ Suburbs and Localities can be requested by emailing addresses@linz.govt.nz

Recolonization or range expansion of large marine predators can be facilitated by reestablishing formally important trophic linkages within intact coastal marine food webs. We analyzed long-term changes in the structure of coastal marine food webs supporting remnant and recolonizing populations of New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri), an apex marine predator, using trophic position and a mixture of alternate sources of organic matter as metrics for their resource niche. We measured both d¹³C, d¹⁵N, and d¹⁵N_AA of amino acids in the collagen of archived prehistoric bone samples and modern bone, muscle, and fur samples. Using the resulting isotopic values we calculated individual-based estimates of trophic position and basal organic matter source use from pelagic and benthic habitats, phytoplankton versus macroalgae, in the underlying food webs supporting sea lions from the Auckland Islands, Stewart Island, Southland, and Otago among discrete time periods dating to the first human settlements in New Zealand. The data resolved significant changes in the trophic position of New Zealand sea lions since the first arrivals of Māori in New Zealand (ca 1250-1450 CE), the advent of European whaling and sealing (ca 1650 -1850 CE) when sea lions were extirpated from the South Island, and expansion of industrialized fishing (ca 1950 -present CE) indicating a vastly altered resource landscape for recolonizing populations on the South Island. New Zealand is the last major land mass to be settled by people therefore the patterns we observe comprise the complete time course of human influences on the marine ecosystem. These patterns provide a unique understanding of how long-term changes in coastal marine food webs influence the trophic position and population recovery of apex predators.

As of June 2024, there were approximately ***** million sheep in New Zealand, a slight decrease from the previous year in which there were around ***** million sheep in the country. The number of sheep in the country has declined over the past decade.  Sheep farming New Zealand was once known for its disproportionate number of sheep per population. However, since the 1970s, the country’s sheep population has fallen drastically. A major factor that has contributed to this decline is sheep farming land lost to other purposes such as urban sprawl, dairy farming, and horticulture farming. The number of lamb livestock has similarly seen a decline. Consumption and exports Sheep in New Zealand are bred for wool and meat, including mutton and lamb. New Zealand is a significant player in the global wool market. The country exports strong wool to leading textile manufacturers around the world. However, along with sheep numbers, wool production has decreased significantly across New Zealand. In terms of domestic meat consumption, the per capita consumption of sheep meat in New Zealand was forecast to decline into the next decade. When looking at trade, the leading country for sheep meat exports from New Zealand was China, with the United Kingdom and the United States trailing behind.

人口：South Island (SI)在06-01-2024达1,242,300.000人，相较于06-01-2023的1,226,100.000人有所增长。人口：South Island (SI)数据按年更新，06-01-1996至06-01-2024期间平均值为1,033,700.000人，共29份观测结果。该数据的历史最高值出现于06-01-2024，达1,242,300.000人，而历史最低值则出现于06-01-1996，为921,100.000人。CEIC提供的人口：South Island (SI)数据处于定期更新的状态，数据来源于Stats NZ，数据归类于全球数据库的新西兰 – Table NZ.G005: Population: by Region。

Statistical Area 2 2023 update

SA2 2023 is the first major update of the geography since it was first created in 2018. The update is to ensure SA2s are relevant and meet criteria before each five-yearly population and dwelling census. SA2 2023 contains 135 new SA2s. Updates were made to reflect real world change of population and dwelling growth mainly in urban areas, and to make some improvements to their delineation of communities of interest.

​

Description

This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released statistical area 2 (SA2) boundaries as at 1 January 2023 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.

​

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

​

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.

​

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

Naturally subdivided populations such as those occupying high-altitude habitat patches of the ‘alpine archipelago’ can provide significant insight into past biogeographical change and serve as useful models for predicting future responses to anthropogenic climate change. Among New Zealand's alpine taxa, phylogenetic studies support two major radiations: the first correlating with geological forces (Pliocene uplift) and the second with climatic processes (Pleistocene glaciations). The rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris) is a threatened alpine passerine belonging to the endemic New Zealand wren family (Acanthisittidae). Rock wren constitute a widespread, naturally fragmented population, occurring in patches of suitable habitat over c. 900 m in altitude throughout the length of the South Island, New Zealand. We investigated the relative role of historical geological versus climatic processes in shaping the genetic structure of rock wren (N = 134) throughout their range. Using microsatellites ...

Tarakihi (Nemadactylus macropterus) is a demersal fish that supports valuable commercial, recreational, and customary fisheries in New Zealand. However, little is known about its stock structure. The population genetic structure, genetic diversity, and demographic history of N. macropterus were investigated using the hypervariable region one of the mitochondrial control region. 370 samples from 14 locations around New Zealand were collected. While weak genetic breaks were detected between Hawke’s Bay and East Northland and between the west and east coasts of South Island, no clear genetic structure was detected for the overall New Zealand area (ФST = 0.002, P = 0.18), indicative of a panmictic genetic structure. N. macropterus display a high level of genetic diversity and appear to have a historically large and stable population with a long evolutionary history. Bayesian skyline analysis indicates that the historic population has gone through two expansions, likely caused by repeated glacial cycles during the second half of the Pleistocene. The addition of 15 king tarakihi samples (Nemadactylus n.sp.) collected from the Three Kings Islands showed a clear genetic differentiation between the two morphotypes. These findings can inform the future management of N. macropterus and N. n.sp. to ensure a sustainable harvest.

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Refer to the 'Current Geographic Boundaries Table' layer 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.

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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.

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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

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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

Tarakihi (Nemadactylus macropterus) is an important fishery species with widespread distribution around New Zealand and off the southern coasts of Australia. However, little is known about whether the populations are locally adapted or genetically structured. To address this, we conducted whole-genome resequencing of 175 tarakihi from around New Zealand and Tasmania (Australia) to obtain a dataset of 7.5 million genome-wide and high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Variant filtering, FST-outlier analysis, and redundancy analysis (RDA) were used to evaluate population structure, adaptive structure, and locus-environment associations. A weak but significant level of neutral genetic differentiation was found between tarakihi from New Zealand and Tasmania (FST = 0.0054–0.0073, P ≤ 0.05), supporting the existence of at least two separate reproductive stocks. No clustering was detected among the New Zealand populations (ΦST < 0.001, P = 0.77). Outlier-based, presumably adaptive variation suggests fine-scale adaptive structure between locations around central New Zealand off the east (Wairarapa, Cape Campbell, and Hawke’s Bay) and the west coast (Tasman Bay/Golden Bay and Upper West Coast of South Island). Allele frequencies from 55 loci were associated with at least one of six environmental variables, of which 47 correlated strongly with yearly mean water temperature. Although genes associated with these loci are linked to various functions, the most common functions were integral components of membrane and cilium assembly. Projection of the RDA indicates the existence of a latitudinal temperature cline. Our work provides the first genomic insights supporting panmixia of tarakihi in New Zealand and evidence of a genomic cline that appears to be driven by the temperature gradients, together providing crucial information to inform the stock assessment of this species, and to widen the insights of the ecological drivers of adaptive variation in a marine species.

Statistical Area 1 2023 update

SA1 2023 is the first major update of the geography since it was first created in 2018. The update is to ensure SA1s are relevant and meet criteria before each five-yearly population and dwelling census. SA1 2023 contains 3,251 new SA1s. Updates were made to reflect real world changes including new subdivisions and motorways, improve the delineation of urban rural and other statistical areas and to ensure they meet population criteria by reducing the number of SA1s with small or large populations.

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Description

This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released statistical area 1 (SA1) boundaries as at 1 January 2023, as defined by Stats NZ. This version contains 33,164 SA1s (33,148 digitised and 16 with empty or null geometries (non-digitised).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Digitised and non-digitised SA1s

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

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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.

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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.

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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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Digital data

Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.

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

We present the outcome of a century of post-bottleneck isolation of a long-lived species, the little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii, LSK) and demonstrate that profound genetic consequences can result from protecting few individuals in isolation. LSK were saved from extinction by translocation of five birds from South Island, New Zealand to Kapiti Island 100 years ago. The Kapiti population now numbers some 1200 birds and provides founders for new populations. We used 15 microsatellite loci to compare genetic variation among Kapiti LSK and the populations of Red Mercury, Tiritiri Matangi and Long Islands that were founded with birds from Kapiti. Two LSK native to D'Urville Island were also placed on Long Island. We found extremely low genetic variation and signatures of acute and recent genetic bottleneck effects in all four populations, indicating that LSK have survived multiple genetic bottlenecks. The Long Island population appears to have arisen from a single mating pair from Kapiti, suggesting there is no genetic contribution from D'Urville birds among extant LSK. The Ne/NC ratio of Kapiti Island LSK (0.03) is exceptionally low for terrestrial vertebrates and suggests that genetic diversity might still be eroding in this population, despite its large census size.