Demographics of New Zealand Demographics of New Zealand The demographics of New Zealand encompass the gender, ethnic, religious, geographic, and economic backgrounds of the million people living in New Zealand. New Zealanders, informally known as "Kiwis", predominantly live in urban areas on the North Island. The five largest cities are Auckland (with one-third of the country's population), Christchurch (in the South Island, the largest island of the New Zealand archipelago), Wellington, Hamilton and Tauranga. Few New Zealanders live on New Zealand's smaller islands. Waiheke Island (near Auckland) is easily the most populated smaller island with residents, while Great Barrier Island, the Chatham and Pitt
Auckland Phil Goff in October 2016. Twenty councillors make up the remainder of the Auckland Council governing body, elected from thirteen electoral wards. Between 1842 and 1865, Auckland was the capital city of New Zealand. Parliament met in what is now Old Government House on the University of Auckland's City campus. The capital was moved to the more centrally located Wellington in 1865. Auckland, because of its large population, is covered by 22 general electorates and three Maori electorates, each returning one member to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The governing Labour Party holds eight general electorates and all three