2023 Census population, dwelling, and housing highlights provides numbers and percentages of people and dwellings, covering topics such as population growth, diversity, unpaid activities, travel to work, education, smoking, and housing, for New Zealand and its geographic areas.
| Iwi | Number of people |
| Ngāpuhi | 184470 |
| Ngāti Porou | 102480 |
| Ngāi Tahu / Kāi Tahu | 84969 |
| Ngāti Maniapoto | 56856 |
| Tūhoe | 51039 |
| Ngāti Tūwharetoa (ki Taupō) | 48960 |
| Waikato | 47664 |
| Te Rarawa | 30213 |
| Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa | 29187 |
| Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga | 27984 |
Unpaid activities
Most New Zealand adults engage in unpaid activities
The census usually resident adult population (15 years and over) were asked about their unpaid activities over the four weeks before they completed the census.
- Household tasks were the most common unpaid activity, undertaken by almost 3 million people (2,903,706 or 85.9 percent).
- Almost a million people (956,088 or 28.3 percent) were responsible for childcare at home.
- More than 400,000 people (415,380 people or 12.3 percent) said they looked after a child not belonging to their own household.
- Around a quarter of a million people (264,867 people, 7.8 percent of the population) cared for a household member who was ill or had a disability.
Almost half a million people do voluntary work
Unpaid activities included other help or voluntary work carried out for or through any organisation, group, or marae in the four weeks prior to census.
- Nearly half a million people (451,824 or 13.4 percent) did other unpaid help or voluntary work. This was a decrease of 4.6 percent (down 21,864 people) compared with 2018.
- Voluntary work decreased in every region between 2018 and 2023, except in Gisborne and Hawke's Bay, which had been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle around the time of 2023 Census. These two cyclone-affected regions also had the highest rates of volunteering in 2023. In Gisborne, 22.2 percent of the population did voluntary work, up slightly from 20.0 percent in 2018. In Hawke's Bay, 21.4 percent of the population undertook voluntary work compared with 15.6 percent in 2018.
Travel to work and education
Around 1 in 6 workers mostly work from home
The number of people mostly working from home increased by almost 60 percent between 2018 and 2023.
- In 2023, people who worked mostly from home made up 17.7 percent (464,130 people) of the employed census usually resident adult population (15 years and over) compared with 11.9 percent (291,234 people) in 2018.
- Wellington and Auckland regions had the highest growth since 2018 in people who mostly worked from home, with the number in both regions more than doubling. In 2023, 158,658 people mostly worked from home in the Auckland region, up from 72,099 people in 2018, while Wellington went from 24,909 people to 56,016 people.
| Region | 2013 | 2018 | 2023 |
| Tasman region | 14.1 | 18.3 | 20.8 |
| Northland region | 14.2 | 17.2 | 20.7 |
| West Coast region | 11.2 | 20.3 | 19.3 |
| Wellington region | 6.4 | 9.0 | 19.0 |
| Taranaki region | 11.3 | 17.4 | 18.8 |
| Waikato region | 11.7 | 15.1 | 18.5 |
| Auckland region | 7.1 | 8.7 | 18.2 |
| Bay of Plenty region | 10.0 | 14.1 | 17.3 |
| Southland region | 12.2 | 17.3 | 17.0 |
| Marlborough region | 12.1 | 15.7 | 16.7 |
| Otago region | 9.3 | 14.3 | 16.7 |
| Manawatū-Whanganui region | 9.7 | 13.9 | 16.4 |
| Gisborne region | 9.9 | 15.1 | 16.3 |
| Hawke's Bay region | 9.4 | 13.7 | 15.8 |
| Canterbury region | 8.8 | 12.2 | 15.6 |
| Nelson region | 7.6 | 12.2 | 14.8 |
More data
Aotearoa Data Explorer provides access and the ability to customise 2023 Census data tables, and compare data against previous censuses.
How to use Aotearoa Data Explorer contains video tutorials and a user guide.
Definitions and metadata
Explore by concept - DataInfo+ provides information about methods, and related metadata.
2023 Census of Population and Dwellings - Information by Concepts (Published) - DataInfo+ provides information about the variables and their quality.
Technical enquiries
Tom Forrest
04 931 4600
[email protected]
ISBN 978-1-991307-20-0
