Urban areas of New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Statistics New Zealand
defines New Zealand urban areas for statistical purposes. The urban area
s comprise cities, towns and other 'conurbations' (an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities) of a thousand people or more. In combination, the urban areas of the country constitute New Zealand
's urban population. At the 2001 census, the urban population made up 86% of New Zealand's total population.
There are three classes of urban area:
Statistics New Zealand also defines rural centres with a population of 300 to 999 people. While these do not fit the standard international definition of an urban population, they serve to distinguish between true rural dwellers and those in rural settlements or towns.
.
Statistics New Zealand
Statistics New Zealand is the national statistical office of New Zealand.-Organisation:New Zealand's Minister of Statistics is Maurice Williamson who serves as a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives and holds several other posts within government...
defines New Zealand urban areas for statistical purposes. The urban area
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
s comprise cities, towns and other 'conurbations' (an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities) of a thousand people or more. In combination, the urban areas of the country constitute New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's urban population. At the 2001 census, the urban population made up 86% of New Zealand's total population.
There are three classes of urban area:
- Main urban areas, with a population of 30,000 or more. These 16 areas mostly correspond to the places known by New Zealanders as cities.
- Secondary urban areas are the 14 urban areas with a population of 10,000 to 30,000.
- Minor urban areas make up the remainder of the urban population of the country, towns with 1,000 to 10,000 people.
Statistics New Zealand also defines rural centres with a population of 300 to 999 people. While these do not fit the standard international definition of an urban population, they serve to distinguish between true rural dwellers and those in rural settlements or towns.
Description of main urban areas
The population figures shown are Statistics New Zealand's resident population estimates at the For rankings in various criteria see the ranked list of New Zealand main urban areasRanked list of New Zealand main urban areas
- Ranked by population :Figures are at the - Ranked by median income :Figures are for all people over 15 years of age and are in New Zealand dollars. The source is the from the 2001 New Zealand Census....
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North Island
- WhangareiWhangareiWhangarei, pronounced , is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. Although commonly classified as a city, it is officially part of the Whangarei District, administered by the Whangarei District Council a local body created in 1989 to administer both the...
: from Hikurangi to Portland. - Auckland is divided into four urban zones:
- Northern Auckland Urban Zone :
- the part of Rodney District known as the Hibiscus Coast, from Waiwera south, including Orewa and the Whangaparaoa Peninsula
- all of North Shore CityNorth Shore, New ZealandNorth Shore City was the name of a city that existed in the Auckland region of New Zealand from 1989 until 2010. The city had a population of making it the fourth most populous city in New Zealand prior to November 2010...
- Western Auckland Urban Zone :
- the part of Rodney District around Kumeu
- the urban part of Waitakere City
- Central Auckland Urban Zone : Auckland City, excluding the Hauraki Gulf islands
- Southern Auckland Urban Zone :
- the urban part of Manukau City
- Papakura DistrictPapakuraThe Papakura District was the name of a local council territory in New Zealand's Auckland Region that existed from 1989 until 2010. The area made up the southernmost part of the Auckland metropolitan area....
- Whangapouri Creek and Runciman in Franklin District
- Northern Auckland Urban Zone :
- HamiltonHamilton Urban AreaThe Hamilton Urban Area is a New Zealand urban area in the Waikato Region. It is the fourth largest urban area in the country with a population of . At its centre is Hamilton City, New Zealand's fourth largest territorial authority...
is divided into three urban zones:- Hamilton Urban Zone : all of Hamilton CityHamilton, New ZealandHamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
and neighbouring parts of Waikato and Waipa districts including Ngaruawahia, Taupiri and Ohaupo - Cambridge Urban Zone : includes Leamington
- Te Awamutu Urban Zone : includes Kihikihi
- Hamilton Urban Zone : all of Hamilton City
- Tauranga : Omokoroa to Papamoa Beach; and Mount Maunganui to Tauriko and Pyes Pa
- RotoruaRotoruaRotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
: Ngongotaha to Owhata - GisborneGisborne, New Zealand-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
: Makaraka to Okitu - Napier-HastingsNapier-Hastings Urban AreaThe Napier-Hastings Urban Area is a New Zealand urban area that covers the twin cities of Napier and Hastings. It is the fifth largest urban area in the country with a population of over 128,600...
is a conurbation of two urban zones:- NapierNapier, New ZealandNapier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
: Napier City, Taradale, Eskdale and Waiohiki - HastingsHastings, New ZealandThe city of Hastings is a major urban settlement in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, and it is the largest settlement by population in Hawke's Bay. Hastings city is the administrative centre of the Hastings District...
: includes Havelock NorthHavelock North, New ZealandHavelock North is a suburb in Hastings, New Zealand, in the North Island's Hawke's Bay region. It ranked as a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local government saw it merged into the new Hastings District....
and Flaxmere, extends from Omahu to Te AwangaTe AwangaTe Awanga is a small beachside town in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Te Awanga is near to the Gannet Bird Colony at Cape Kidnappers.-The Beach:Te Awanga is a town that is just smaller than Haumoana, which is further up the Bay beach towards Napier. The town was developed as a holiday settlement. There...
, from Pakowhai to Pakipaki
- Napier
- New PlymouthNew PlymouthNew Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
: Oakura to Bell Block - Wanganui : Westmere to Marybank
- Palmerston NorthPalmerston NorthPalmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
:- Palmerston North City excluding rural areas in the Tararua foothills
- Longburn, Kairanga and Stoney Creek in the Manawatu District
- KapitiKapiti CoastThe Kapiti Coast is the name of the section of the coast of the south-western North Island of New Zealand that is north of Wellington and opposite Kapiti Island. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Wellington Regional Council...
: Pekapeka to Paekakariki - WellingtonWellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
is divided into four urban zones:- Upper HuttUpper HuttUpper Hutt is a satellite city of Wellington. It is New Zealand's smallest city by population, the second largest by land area. It is in Greater Wellington.-Geography:Upper Hutt is 30 km north-east of Wellington...
: Te Marua to PinehavenPinehavenPinehaven is a suburb of Upper Hutt City in the lower North Island of New Zealand. It is at the southern end of the city, tucked into the hills east of Silverstream. Pinehaven is a beautiful valley centred around a large reserve and beautiful piece of native bush... - Lower HuttLower HuttLower Hutt is a city in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Its council has adopted the name Hutt City Council, but neither the New Zealand Geographic Board nor the Local Government Act recognise the name Hutt City. This alternative name can lead to confusion, as there are two cities in the...
: includes Wainuiomata, Petone and the eastern bays, excludes farmland adjacent to Wainuiomata - PoriruaPoriruaPorirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, immediately north of the city of Wellington, with their central business districts 20 km apart. A large proportion of the population commutes to Wellington, so it may be considered a satellite city. It almost completely surrounds...
: all of Porirua City except Paekakariki Hill and Mana Island; includes Pukerua Bay and Pauatahanui - Wellington CityWellington CityWellington City Council is a territorial authority in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Wellington city extends as far north as Linden, and includes the rural areas of Makara and Ohariu. It is New Zealand's third-largest city, behind Auckland and Christchurch.Wellington attained city status in...
: from Linden south, includes Horokiwi but excludes Makara and Ohariu
- Upper Hutt
South Island
- NelsonNelson, New ZealandNelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
: from Glenduan to the Wairoa River, excludes Whangamoa - ChristchurchChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
: Christchurch City, KaiapoiKaiapoiKaiapoi is a town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, located close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River, and approximately 17 kilometres north of Christchurch....
, Prebbleton and Lyttelton HarbourLyttelton HarbourLyttelton Harbour is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand. The other is Akaroa Harbour.Approximately 15 km in length from its mouth to Teddington, the harbour was formed from a series of ancient volcanic eruptions that created a caldera, the...
including Diamond Harbour - DunedinDunedinDunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
: from MosgielMosgielMosgiel is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin City Council area, but was physically separate from the contiguous suburbs until...
and BrightonBrighton, New Zealand"Ocean View, New Zealand" redirects here. For the inner Dunedin suburb occasionally referred to as Ocean View, see Andersons BayBrighton is a small seaside town within the city limits of Dunedin, in New Zealand's South Island. It is located 20 kilometres southwest from the city centre on the...
to Pine HillPine Hill, New ZealandPine Hill is a suburb, hill, and general area of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is sited on the hill of the same name, a spur of Mount Cargill overlooking North East Valley and Glenleith to the north of the city centre. This spur lies in the fork of the confluence of the Water of Leith and...
, RavensbourneRavensbourne, New ZealandRavensbourne is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located on the steep southeastern slopes of Signal Hill above the Otago Harbour. It lies on the harbour's northern shore, east-northeast of the city centre...
to AramoanaAramoanaAramoana, also known as "The Spit" to locals, is a small coastal settlement, 27 kilometres north of Dunedin city, in the South Island of New Zealand. The settlement's permanent population in 2001 Census was 261. Supplementing this are seasonal visitors from the city who occupy cribs... - InvercargillInvercargillInvercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
: Makarewa to Woodend and west to Otatara
See also
- List of towns in New Zealand
- List of cities in New Zealand
- Ranked list of New Zealand main urban areasRanked list of New Zealand main urban areas- Ranked by population :Figures are at the - Ranked by median income :Figures are for all people over 15 years of age and are in New Zealand dollars. The source is the from the 2001 New Zealand Census....
External links
- Urban area, Statistics New ZealandStatistics New ZealandStatistics New Zealand is the national statistical office of New Zealand.-Organisation:New Zealand's Minister of Statistics is Maurice Williamson who serves as a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives and holds several other posts within government...