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Wellington facts & figures
We tell a great story here in Wellington, and we find personality goes a long way. But if you're just looking for the facts, well, you've come to the right page.
The Wellington Region
The Wellington region is located in the lower North Island of New Zealand, and is made up of eight district and city council areas. These are, in order of largest to smallest population:
- Wellington City
- Lower Hutt City
- Porirua City
- Kapiti Coast District
- Upper Hutt City
- Masterton District
- South Wairarapa District
- Carterton District
The Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency is tasked with enhancing prosperity, vibrancy and liveability across the region.
Population
About 496,000 people live in the Wellington region, which is 10.6% of New Zealand’s population. The Wellington region is home to many diverse cultures, with Statistics New Zealand estimating around 25% of the people in Wellington are born overseas.
The population mix consists of:
- 77% European
- 13% Maori
- 10.5% Asian
- 8% Pacific Peoples
- 1.5% Middle Eastern/Latin American/African
- 1.8 % other (New Zealander)
* Note: Total of more than 100% due to people being able to associate with more than one ethnic group.
Economics & workforce
Wellingtonians enjoy the highest average household income in the country. Around 84% of people in Wellington have a formal qualification, and 28% hold a tertiary qualification or equivalent - compared with 20% of New Zealand as a whole (Statistics New Zealand, 2013).
| Population | 496,900 |
| Average household income | $98,863 |
| GDP Per capita | $65,974 |
| Median house price (2016) | $536,065 |
Quality of life
Wellingtonians topped the charts in the The Nielsen Quality of Life Survey, with 87% rating their quality of life as "good" or "very good". They also top rated Wellington's safety, arts scene, public transport and their 'satisfaction with life in general'. We can't argue with that!
Climate
Wellington’s weather comes in for some criticism and, yes, it can get a bit windy from time-to-time. But the capital actually enjoys a temperate and often sunny climate, enjoying around 2,000 sunshine hours a year. The warmest month is February, the coolest is July, and our average annual rainfall is 1270mm.
Tourism
Tourism is a vital contributor to Wellington's economy, resulting in some $2.5 billion in expenditure per year - that's nearly $7 million per day, over $4756 per minute!
| Direct international visitor arrivals via Wellington Airport | 213,000 p.a. |
| Commercial guest nights (Domestic) | 1.7 million p.a. |
| Commercial guest nights (International) | 850,000 p.a. |
| Annual tourism expenditure | $2.5 billion |
Out and about
Wellington is a super cool and small city. So compact in fact that 18,000 of the city’s residents walk or jog to work. The residents are a lucky bunch - nearly all of us are within 3km of the sea which means easy access to our 497km of coastline. On top of all that seaside goodness, Wellington has 363km of mountain bike and walking tracks around the city.
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