Greater Wellington (Wellington Region) Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui (Māori) | |
|---|---|
 Greater Wellington within New Zealand | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Island | North Island |
| Established | 1989 |
| Seat | Wellington |
| Territorial authorities | |
| Government | |
| • Body | Greater Wellington Regional Council |
| • Chair | Daran Ponter (Labour) |
| • Deputy Chair | Adrienne Staples |
| Area | |
| • Land | 8,049.47 km2 (3,107.92 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2024)[2] | |
• Region | 550,600 |
| GDP | |
| • Total | NZ$44.987 billion (2021) (3rd) |
| • Per capita | NZ$82,772 (2021) |
| Time zone | UTC+12:00 (NZST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+13:00 (NZDT) |
| ISO 3166 code | NZ-WGN |
| HDI (2022) | 0.969[4] very high ·1st |
| Website | GW.govt.nz |
Greater Wellington, also known as theWellington Region[5] (Māori:Te Upoko o te Ika), is aregion ofNew Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of theNorth Island. The region covers an area of 8,049 square kilometres (3,108 sq mi), and has a population of 550,600 (June 2024).[2]
The region takes its name fromWellington, New Zealand'scapital city and the region's seat. The Wellington urban area, including the cities ofWellington,Porirua,Lower Hutt, andUpper Hutt, accounts for 79 percent of the region's population; other major urban areas include the Kapiti conurbation (Waikanae,Paraparaumu,Raumati Beach,Raumati South, andPaekākāriki) and the town ofMasterton.
The region is administered by theWellington Regional Council, which uses the promotional name Greater Wellington Regional Council.[6]
The council region covers theconurbation around thecapital city,Wellington, and the cities ofLower Hutt,Porirua, andUpper Hutt, each of which has a rural hinterland; it extends up the west coast of the North Island, taking in the coastal settlements of theKāpiti Coast District; east of theRemutaka Range it includes three largely rural districts containing most ofWairarapa, covering the towns ofMasterton,Carterton,Greytown,Featherston andMartinborough.[7] The Wellington Regional Council was first formed in 1980 from a merger of the Wellington Regional Planning Authority and the Wellington Regional Water Board.[8]
Following the creation of the Auckland Council 'super-city' in 2009, a similar merger for councils within the Wellington region was investigated by theLocal Government Commission in 2013. The proposal was scrapped in 2015 following negative public feedback.[9]
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In common usage the termsWellington region andGreater Wellington are not clearly defined, and areas on the periphery of the region are often excluded. In its more restrictive sense the region refers to the cluster of built-up areas west of the Tararua ranges. The much more sparsely populated area to the east has its own name,Wairarapa, and a centre in Masterton. To a lesser extent, theKāpiti Coast is sometimes excluded from the region. Otaki in particular has strong connections to theHorowhenua district to the north. This includes having been part of theMidCentral District Health Board (DHB) area, instead of theCapital and Coast DHB area like the rest of the Kāpiti Coast.
TheMāori who originally settled the region knew it asTe Upoko o te Ika a Māui, meaning "the head ofMāui's fish". Legend recounts thatKupe discovered and explored the region in about the tenth century.
The region was settled by Europeans in 1839 by theNew Zealand Company. Wellington became the capital ofWellington Province upon the creation of the province in 1853, until the Abolition of the Provinces Act came into force on 1 Nov 1876.[10] Wellington became capital of New Zealand in 1865, the third capital after Russell and Auckland.
The region occupies the southern tip of the North Island, bounded to the west, south and east by the sea. To the west lies theTasman Sea and to the east thePacific Ocean, the two seas joined by the narrow and turbulentCook Strait, which is 28 kilometres (17 mi) wide at its narrowest point, betweenCape Terawhiti and Perano Head in theMarlborough Sounds.
The region covers 7,860 square kilometres (3,030 sq mi), and extends north toŌtaki and almost toEketāhuna in the east.
Physically and topologically the region has four areas running roughly parallel along a northeast–southwest axis:
Wellington region covers 8,049.47 km2 (3,107.92 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 550,600 as of June 2024,[2] with a population density of 68 people per km2.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 400,284 | — |
| 1996 | 414,048 | +0.68% |
| 2001 | 423,765 | +0.47% |
| 2006 | 448,959 | +1.16% |
| 2013 | 471,315 | +0.70% |
| 2018 | 506,814 | +1.46% |
| 2023 | 520,971 | +0.55% |
| Source:[11][12] | ||
Wellington region had a population of 520,971 in the2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 14,157 people (2.8%) since the2018 census, and an increase of 49,656 people (10.5%) since the2013 census. There were 253,278 males, 263,691 females and 4,002 people ofother genders in 196,230 dwellings.[13] 5.7% of people identified asLGBTIQ+. The median age was 37.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 89,685 people (17.2%) aged under 15 years, 109,104 (20.9%) aged 15 to 29, 241,272 (46.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 80,916 (15.5%) aged 65 or older.[11]
Of those at least 15 years old, 113,526 (26.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 199,524 (46.3%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 82,521 (19.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications.[11]
| Name | Area (km2) | Population | Density (per km2) | Dwellings | Median age | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kapiti Coast District | 731.52 | 55,914 | 76.4 | 23,097 | 48.8 years | $39,100[14] |
| Porirua City | 174.80 | 59,445 | 340.1 | 19,134 | 35.9 years | $47,200[15] |
| Upper Hutt City | 539.88 | 45,759 | 84.8 | 16,890 | 39.1 years | $48,600[16] |
| Lower Hutt City | 376.40 | 107,562 | 285.8 | 39,279 | 37.5 years | $47,800[17] |
| Wellington City | 289.91 | 202,689 | 699.1 | 77,835 | 34.9 years | $55,500[18] |
| Masterton District | 2,300.21 | 27,678 | 12.0 | 10,911 | 42.7 years | $37,200[19] |
| Carterton District | 1179.91 | 10,107 | 8.6 | 4,116 | 48.4 years | $37,800[20] |
| South Wairarapa District | 2387.76 | 11,811 | 4.9 | 4,953 | 47.5 years | $42,800[21] |
| Tararua District (part) | 69.09 | 6 | 0.1 | 3 | – | –[22] |
| Wellington region | 8,049.47 | 520,971 | 64.7 | 196,230 | 37.9 years | $48,700 |
Over three-quarters of the 550,600 people (June 2024)[2] reside in the four cities at the southwestern corner. Other main centres of population are on the Kāpiti Coast and in the fertile farming areas close to the upper Ruamahanga River in the Wairarapa.
Along the Kāpiti Coast, numerous small towns sit close together, many of them occupying spaces close to popular beaches. From the north, these includeŌtaki,Waikanae,Paraparaumu, the twin settlements ofRaumati Beach andRaumati South,Paekākāriki andPukerua Bay, the latter being a northern suburb ofPorirua. Each of these settlements has a population of between 2,000 and 10,000, making this moderately heavily populated.
In the Wairarapa the largest community by a considerable margin isMasterton, with a population of over 20,000. Other towns includeFeatherston,Martinborough,Carterton andGreytown.
| Urban area | Population (June 2024)[2] | % of region |
|---|---|---|
| Wellington | 214,200 | 38.9% |
| Lower Hutt | 114,500 | 20.8% |
| Porirua | 60,600 | 11.0% |
| Upper Hutt | 45,000 | 8.2% |
| Paraparaumu | 30,300 | 5.5% |
| Masterton | 23,200 | 4.2% |
| Waikanae | 13,150 | 2.4% |
| Carterton | 5,980 | 1.1% |
| Ōtaki | 5,270 | 1.0% |
| Greytown | 2,940 | 0.5% |
| Featherston | 2,760 | 0.5% |
| Ōtaki Beach | 2,120 | 0.4% |
| Martinborough | 2,050 | 0.4% |
| Paekākāriki | 1,800 | 0.3% |
The median income as of the 2023 census was $48,700, compared with $41,500 nationally. 78,597 people (18.2%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 236,730 (54.9%) people were employed full-time, 57,411 (13.3%) were part-time, and 12,573 (2.9%) were unemployed.[11]
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results in the 2023 census were 72.6%European (Pākehā); 15.5%Māori; 9.1%Pasifika; 15.2%Asian; 2.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.2%, Māori language by 3.9%, Samoan by 2.8% and other languages by 17.2%. No language could be spoken by 2.0% (e.g. too young to talk).New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 28.1, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 31.1%Christian, 3.0%Hindu, 1.3%Islam, 0.7%Māori religious beliefs, 1.2%Buddhist, 0.5%New Age, 0.2%Jewish, and 1.7% other religions. People who answered that they hadno religion were 54.3%, and 6.1% of people did not answer the census question.[11]
| Nationality | Population (2018) |
|---|---|
 England | 29,043 |
 India | 11,334 |
 China | 8,664 |
 Australia | 8,400 |
 Samoa | 7,410 |
 Philippines | 6,642 |
 South Africa | 6,435 |
 United States | 4,581 |
 Fiji | 4,047 |
 Scotland | 3,843 |
In the 2013 census, around 25.3 percent of the Wellington region's population was born overseas, second only to Auckland (39.1 percent) and on par with the New Zealand average (25.2 percent). The British Isles is the largest region of origin, accounting for 36.5 percent of the overseas-born population in the region. Significantly, the Wellington region is home to over half of New Zealand'sTokelauan-born population.[24][25]
Catholicism was the largest Christian denomination in Wellington with 14.8 percent affiliating, whileAnglicanism was the second-largest with 11.9 percent affiliating.Hinduism (2.4 percent) andBuddhism (1.6 percent) were the largest non-Christian religions in the 2013 census.[25]
Key cultural institutions in the region includeTe Papa in Wellington, theDowse Art Museum inLower Hutt,Pataka museum and gallery inPorirua.
The subnational gross domestic product (GDP) of the Wellington region was estimated at NZ$39.00 billion in the year to March 2019, 12.9% of New Zealand's national GDP. The subnational GDP per capita was estimated at $74,251 in the same period, the highest of all New Zealand regions. In the year to March 2018, primary industries contributed $389 million (1.0%) to the regional GDP, goods-producing industries contributed $5.93 billion (15.9%), service industries contributed $27.84 billion (74.5%), and taxes and duties contributed $3.20 billion (8.6%).[26]
Public transport in the region is well developed compared to other parts of New Zealand. It consists ofbuses,trains,cars,ferries and afunicular (theWellington Cable Car). It also includedtrams until 1964 andtrolleybuses until 2018. Buses and ferries are privately owned, with the infrastructure owned by public bodies, and public transport is oftensubsidised. The Regional Council is responsible for planning and subsidising public transport. The services are marketed under the nameMetlink.Transdev Wellington operates the metropolitan train network, running from the Wellington CBD as far asWaikanae in the north andMasterton in the east. In the year to June 2015, 36.41 million trips were made by public transport with passengers travelling a combined 460.7 million kilometres, equal to 73 trips and 927 km per capita.[27]
The Wellington region has the lowest rate of car ownership in New Zealand; 11.7 percent of households at the 2013 census did not have access to a car, compared to 7.9 percent for the whole of New Zealand. The number of households with more than one car is also the lowest: 44.4 percent compared to 54.5 percent nationally.[28]
The main port in the region is located inWellington Harbour.CentrePort Wellington manages cargo passing through the port including containers, logs, vehicles and other bulk cargo. Fuel imports are managed at wharves atSeaview andMiramar. The company also leases wharf facilities to theInterislander andBluebridge ferry services which operate acrossCook Strait between Wellington andPicton in theSouth Island, and it provides support for cruise ships that visit Wellington each year.CentrePort is majority-owned by Greater Wellington Regional Council, with a 77% shareholding.[29]
From 2005 to 2015 there has been increase in the variety and number of native forest bird species, as well as an increase in the range of areas inhabited by these species, in Greater Wellington.[30]
The internationally recognisedRamsar estuarine wetlands site atFoxton Beach is of note as having one of the most diverse ranges of wetlands birds to be seen at any one place in New Zealand. A total of 95 species have been identified at the estuary. It is a significant area of salt marsh and mudflat and a valuable feeding ground for many birds including the migratory Eastern bar-tailed Godwit, which flies all the way from Siberia to New Zealand to escape the harsh northern winter. The estuary is also a permanent home to 13 species of birds, six species of fish and four plants species, all of which are threatened. It regularly supports about one percent of the world population of wrybills.[31]
Text was copied from this source, which is available under aCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
| North Island |  | |
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| South Island | ||
* Governed by aunitary authority rather than a regional council | ||
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| National | |
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