Wellington Urban Area Census 2001

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Introduction
On 6 March 2001, the thirty-first New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings was held. This Territorial Authority leaflet contains a summary of key information available from this census for the Wellington Urban Area and comparisons with New Zealand as a whole.⁽¹⁾

The information in this leaflet is based on the census usually resident population count.

The census usually resident population count for people of the Mäori ethnic group includes those people who stated Mäori as either their sole ethnic group or as one of several ethnic groups.

Numbers of people counted

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
New Zealand Wellington Urban Area Males 1,823,007 165,588 Females 1,914,270 174,162 Total 3,737,280 339,747 Change since 1991 Census 363,354 15,591	New Zealand Wellington Urban Area Males 257,481 19,983 Females 268,800 20,637 Total 526,281 40,620 Change since 1991 Census 91,434 6,723
The Wellington Urban Area has 9.1% of the population of New Zealand. The rate of population growth since the 1991 Census is less than for New Zealand as a whole.	The Wellington Urban Area has 7.7% of the Mäori population of New Zealand. The rate of Mäori population growth since the 1991 Census is less than for New Zealand as a whole.

Age and sex

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Age-sex structure	Age-sex structure

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Age-sex structure	Age-sex structure
The median age of people in the Wellington Urban Area is 33.0, compared with 34.8 for all of New Zealand. 9.3% of people (31,527) in the Wellington Urban Area are aged 65 and over, compared with all of New Zealand which has 12.1% of people aged 65 and over. 21.8% of people (74,193) in the Wellington Urban Area are aged under 15, compared with 22.7% for all of New Zealand.	The median age of Mäori people in the Wellington Urban Area is 22.8, compared with 21.9 for all Mäori in New Zealand. 2.1% of Mäori people (849) in the Wellington Urban Area are aged 65 and over, compared with 3.4% for all Mäori in New Zealand. 35.3% of Mäori people (14,346) in the Wellington Urban Area are aged under 15, compared with 37.3% for all Mäori in New Zealand.

Ethnic groups (total responses)

78.3% of people (257,079) in the Wellington Urban Area said they belong to the European ethnic group. For all New Zealand 80.1% said they belong to the European ethnic group. 12.4% of people (40,620) in the Wellington Urban Area said they belong to the Mäori ethnic group compared with all of New Zealand at 14.7%. The population of the Wellington Urban Area contains a larger proportion of Pacific peoples (9.3%) and larger proportion of Asian people (8.0%) compared with the whole of New Zealand (at 6.5% and 6.6% respectively).

Ethnic groups

Marital status

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Marital status	Marital status
97,107 people aged 15 years and over who live in the Wellington Urban Area said they had never married; 113,979 were married and 38,958 were widowed, separated or divorced. 25.5% of people aged 15 years and over (24,105) in the Wellington Urban Area who have never been married said that they live with a partner.	14,535 Mäori people aged 15 years and over who live in the Wellington Urban Area said they had never married; 6,780 were married and 3420 were widowed, separated or divorced. 30.2% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over (4,215) in the Wellington Urban Area who have never been married said that they live with a partner.

Languages spoken

Total population

Mäori ethnic population

The most common language after English in the Wellington Urban Area is Samoan, spoken by 4.3% of people. For New Zealand as a whole, the most common language after English is Mäori (4.5%). 77.6% of the population in the Wellington Urban Area (253,470) speak only one language, compared with 82.1% for New Zealand as a whole. 16.3% of the people in the Wellington Urban Area (53,085) speak two languages; 3.8% (12,294) speak three or more languages.

24.8% (9,969) of the Mäori people in the Wellington Urban Area speak Mäori. This is the most commonly spoken language after English, for all Mäori in New Zealand (25.2%) and in the Wellington Urban Area. 70.5% of the Mäori population in the Wellington Urban Area (28,293) speak only one language, compared with 71.3% for Mäori in New Zealand as a whole. 23.4% of Mäori people in the Wellington Urban Area (9,393) speak two languages; 2.5% (999) speak three or more languages.

Education

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Highest qualification	Highest qualification
40.7% of people aged 15 years and over (96,162) in the Wellington Urban Area said they have a tertiary qualification, compared with 32.2% for New Zealand as a whole. 19.9% of people aged 15 years and over (47,070) in the Wellington Urban Area said they have no formal qualifications, compared with 27.6% of people aged 15 years and over in New Zealand.	26.6% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over (6,153) living in the Wellington Urban Area said they have a tertiary qualification, compared with 21.2% for all Mäori people aged 15 years and over in New Zealand. 35.2% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over (8,133) in the Wellington Urban Area said they have no formal qualifications, compared with 43.6% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over in New Zealand.

Income

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Income	Income
The median income of people in the Wellington Urban Area is $23,900, compared with $18,500 for all of New Zealand. 44.2% of people aged 15 years and over in the Wellington Urban Area have an annual income of $20,000 or less, compared with 52.8% for New Zealand as a whole. 17.8% of people aged 15 years and over in the Wellington Urban Area have an annual income of more than $50,000, compared with 11.5% for New Zealand as a whole.	The median income of Mäori people in the Wellington Urban Area is $19,700, compared with $14,800 for all Mäori in New Zealand. 50.6% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over in the Wellington Urban Area have an annual income of $20,000 or less, compared with 61.2% for Mäori in New Zealand as a whole. 8.8% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over in the Wellington Urban Area have an annual income of more than $50,000, compared with 5.2% for Mäori in New Zealand as a whole.

Employment and unemployment

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Labour force status	Labour force status
The unemployment rate in the Wellington Urban Area is 7.2%, compared with 7.5% for all of New Zealand. The most popular occupational group in the Wellington Urban Area is professionals. The most popular occupational group in New Zealand as a whole is service and sales.	The unemployment rate of Mäori in the Wellington Urban Area is 14.3%, compared with 16.8% for all Mäori in New Zealand. The most popular occupational group for Mäori in the Wellington Urban Area is clerks. The most popular occupational group for all Mäori in New Zealand as a whole is service and sales.

Access to telecommunication systems

55,056 households or 46.5% in the Wellington Urban Area have access to the Internet, compared with 37.4% for all of New Zealand. 3,294 households or 2.8% in the Wellington Urban Area have no access to a telephone, compared with 3.7% for all of New Zealand.

Access to telecommunication systems

Households

In the Wellington Urban Area, 67.0% (80,877) of all households are one-family households. For New Zealand as a whole, one-family households make up 69.1% of all households. 28,896 people in the Wellington Urban Area live in one-person households, which is 23.9% of all households. In New Zealand as a whole, one-person households make up 23.4% of all households. Average household size in the Wellington Urban Area is 2.7 people. This is also the average household size for New Zealand as a whole.

Household composition

Home ownership and rent

65.6% of permanent private dwellings in the Wellington Urban Area are owned with or without a mortgage, compared with 68.8% for all of New Zealand.

For dwellings that are rented, the average weekly rent paid for permanent private dwellings in the Wellington Urban Area is $202, compared with $176 for New Zealand as a whole.

Families

In the Wellington Urban Area, couples with children (38,523 families) make up 44.8% of all families. Couples with no children make up 36.9% of all families. 18.3% of families (15,738) in the Wellington Urban Area are one parent with child(ren) families, compared with 18.9% for New Zealand as a whole.

In New Zealand as a whole, couples with children make up 42.1% of all families and couples with no children make up 39.0% of all families.

All figures in this leaflet have been randomly rounded to base 3 to preserve confidentiality.

(1) The percentages in this leaflet are calculated against complete responses; that is, excluding cases where no answers were provided.