Ngā Māori

At the 2013 Census, a total of 163,920 people in Tāmaki Makaurau identified as being of Māori descent. This represents almost a quarter (24.5%) of all those of Māori descent living in Aotearoa, and 11.6% of the total Tāmaki Makaurau population.

By 2036, the Māori population in Auckland is projected to reach over 200,000. 

The number of Māori employed in Auckland is estimated to rise from 58,000 in 2011 to over 72,000 in the next 30 years. 

Over the next 15 years, Auckland will have approximately 133,000 Māori of the working age population.

The Māori descent population in Tāmaki Makaurau is youthful. Over half of the population (51.5%) was younger than 25 years in 2013 and nearly a third (32.8%) under 15 years of age.  Less than 5% of the population were aged 65 years or older is a similar pattern for the total Māori descent population in Aotearoa.

People of Māori descent live across the wider Auckland region but are concentrated in the south and western urban areas. Six of the 21 local board areas account for nearly half (49.7%) of the Māori descent population in Tāmaki Makaurau. These are: Manurewa, Henderson-Massey, Papakura, Ōtara-Papatoetoe, Māngere-Ōtāhuhu and Franklin.

The Manurewa and Henderson-Massey local board areas have the highest numbers of people identifying with Māori descent; 19,314 and 17,487 people respectively. The highest proportion of Māori in relation to the total local board area population can be found in Papakura (27.3%) and Manurewa (23.5%). The local boards with the lowest number of Māori are Great Barrier (168) and Waiheke (1,038).

Section 7 of the Local Government (Auckland Council)  Act 2009 defines the term mana whenua and mātāwaka as they relate to the functions and operations under the Act.