Census Snapshot for Māori

March 2001

Highlights

For the census usually resident population count.

• 1 in 7 people (526,281) in New Zealand were of Māori ethnicity
• Nearly 9 in 10 people of Māori ethnicity live in the North Island
• Nearly 6 in 10 people of Māori ethnicity live in the four northern regions of Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty
• 1 in 6 people of Māori ethnicity live in rural areas
• The median age of people of Māori ethnicity is 22 years
• 1 in 4 people of Māori ethnicity speak the Māori language
• Nearly one half of Māori language speakers were aged under 25 years
• 1 in 4 people of Māori ethnicity speak more than one language
• Over 1 in 3 people of Māori ethnicity in the Gisborne region speak the Māori language, with just under 1 in 3 in Bay of Plenty and Northland

(source Statistics New Zealand, 2002)