Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
You may use this work for commercial purposes.
You must attribute the creator in your own works.
This dataset was last updated on Stats NZ Geographic Data Service on 19 Jan 2023.
The geographic areas file 2021 is a text file that classifies meshblocks into larger geographic areas, such as statistical area 2s, territorial authorities, and regional councils. You can use the areas file, also known as a concordance file, to see how the various geographic boundaries are related.
For each meshblock, there is a series of codes that link to any meshblock-defined geographic area. All areas are set as at 1 January of the specified year. Concordance files are available from different years, to enable data for the same area classification to be compared over time.
The areas file can be used in conjunction with the geographic boundary files available on Stats NZ's Geographic Data Service.
Geographic areas files for earlier years are also available on Stats NZ’s Geographic Data Service.
From 2020 onwards, names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons, as applicable. Where a descriptor column has a macron, the corresponding column name without a macron is suffixed with ‘ascii’.
Table ID | 105172 |
---|---|
Data type | Table |
Row count | 53598 |
Services | Web Feature Service (WFS), Catalog Service (CS-W), data.govt.nz Atom Feed |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
You may use this work for commercial purposes.
You must attribute the creator in your own works.
This dataset was first added to Stats NZ Geographic Data Service on 01 Dec 2022.
This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released meshblock boundaries concorded to higher geographies as at 1 January 2023. This version contains 57,539 meshblocks, including 16 with empty or null geometries (non-digitised meshblocks).
Statistical geographies introduced since 2018 are:
2018: statistical area 1 (SA1), statistical area 2 (SA2), urban rural (UR), urban rural indicator (IUR) as part of the Statistical Standard for Geographic Areas 2018 (SSGA18) which replaced the 1992 New Zealand Standard Areas Classification (NZSAC92),
2020: urban accessibility indicator (IUA),
2021: functional urban area (FUA), functional urban area indicator (IFUA), functional urban area type (TFUA),
2023: statistical area 3 (SA3).
The higher geographies contained in this concordance are: meshblock (MB), landwater (LANDWATER),
statistical area 1 (SA1),
statistical area 2 (SA2),
statistical area 3 (SA3),
urban rural (UR), urban rural indicator (IUR), urban accessibility indicator (IUA),
functional urban area (FUA), functional urban area indicator (IFUA), functional urban area type (TFUA),
territorial authority (TA), territorial authority and local board (TALB),
regional council (REGC), constituency (CON), Māori constituency (MCON),
ward (WARD), Māori ward (MWARD),
community board (CB), subdivision (TASUB).
For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023.
A link to the Geographic Areas Table 2023 can be found here.
Generalised version
This generalised version has been simplified for rapid drawing and is designed for thematic or web mapping purposes.
Macrons
Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The column name for those without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.
Digital data
Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.
Layer ID | 111224 |
---|---|
Data type | Vector multipolygon | Feature count | 57539 (incl. 16 with empty or null geometries) |
Services | Vector Query API, Web Feature Service (WFS), Catalog Service (CS-W), data.govt.nz Atom Feed |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
You may use this work for commercial purposes.
You must attribute the creator in your own works.
This dataset was first added to Stats NZ Geographic Data Service on 01 Dec 2022.
Statistical Area 2 2023 update
SA2 2023 is the first major update of the geography since it was first created in 2018. The update is to ensure SA2s are relevant and meet criteria before each five-yearly population and dwelling census. SA2 2023 contains 135 new SA2s. Updates were made to reflect real world change of population and dwelling growth mainly in urban areas, and to make some improvements to their delineation of communities of interest.
Description
This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released statistical area 2 (SA2) boundaries as at 1 January 2023 as defined by Stats NZ. This version contains 2,395 SA2s (2,379 digitised and 16 with empty or null geometries (non-digitised)).
SA2 is an output geography that provides higher aggregations of population data than can be provided at the statistical area 1 (SA1) level. The SA2 geography aims to reflect communities that interact together socially and economically. In populated areas, SA2s generally contain similar sized populations.
The SA2 should:
form a contiguous cluster of one or more SA1s,
excluding exceptions below, allow the release of multivariate statistics with minimal data suppression,
capture a similar type of area, such as a high-density urban area, farmland, wilderness area, and water area,
be socially homogeneous and capture a community of interest. It may have, for example:
form a nested hierarchy with statistical output geographies and administrative boundaries. It must:
SA2s in city council areas generally have a population of 2,000–4,000 residents while SA2s in district council areas generally have a population of 1,000–3,000 residents.
In major urban areas, an SA2 or a group of SA2s often approximates a single suburb. In rural areas, rural settlements are included in their respective SA2 with the surrounding rural area.
SA2s in urban areas where there is significant business and industrial activity, for example ports, airports, industrial, commercial, and retail areas, often have fewer than 1,000 residents. These SA2s are useful for analysing business demographics, labour markets, and commuting patterns.
In rural areas, some SA2s have fewer than 1,000 residents because they are in conservation areas or contain sparse populations that cover a large area.
To minimise suppression of population data, small islands with zero or low populations close to the mainland, and marinas are generally included in their adjacent land-based SA2.
Zero or nominal population SA2s
To ensure that the SA2 geography covers all of New Zealand and aligns with New Zealand’s topography and local government boundaries, some SA2s have zero or nominal populations. These include:
400001; New Zealand Economic Zone, 400002; Oceanic Kermadec Islands, 400003; Kermadec Islands, 400004; Oceanic Oil Rig Taranaki, 400005; Oceanic Campbell Island, 400006; Campbell Island, 400007; Oceanic Oil Rig Southland, 400008; Oceanic Auckland Islands, 400009; Auckland Islands, 400010 ; Oceanic Bounty Islands, 400011; Bounty Islands, 400012; Oceanic Snares Islands, 400013; Snares Islands, 400014; Oceanic Antipodes Islands, 400015; Antipodes Islands, 400016; Ross Dependency.
SA2 numbering and naming
Each SA2 is a single geographic entity with a name and a numeric code. The name refers to a geographic feature or a recognised place name or suburb. In some instances where place names are the same or very similar, the SA2s are differentiated by their territorial authority name, for example, Gladstone (Carterton District) and Gladstone (Invercargill City).
SA2 codes have six digits. North Island SA2 codes start with a 1 or 2, South Island SA2 codes start with a 3 and non-digitised SA2 codes start with a 4. They are numbered approximately north to south within their respective territorial authorities. To ensure the north–south code pattern is maintained, the SA2 codes were given 00 for the last two digits when the geography was created in 2018. When SA2 names or boundaries change only the last two digits of the code will change.
For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023.
Generalised version
This generalised version has been simplified for rapid drawing and is designed for thematic or web mapping purposes.
Macrons
Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The column name for those without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.
Digital data
Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.
To download geographic classifications in table formats such as CSV please use Ariā
Layer ID | 111227 |
---|---|
Data type | Vector multipolygon | Feature count | 2395 (incl. 16 with empty or null geometries) |
Services | Vector Query API, Web Feature Service (WFS), Catalog Service (CS-W), data.govt.nz Atom Feed |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
You may use this work for commercial purposes.
You must attribute the creator in your own works.
This dataset was first added to Stats NZ Geographic Data Service on 06 Dec 2022.
The geographic areas file 2023 is a text file that classifies meshblocks into larger geographic areas, such as statistical areas, territorial authorities, and regional councils. You can use the areas file, also known as a concordance file, to see how the various geographic boundaries are related.
For each meshblock, there is a series of codes that link to any meshblock-defined geographic area. All areas are set as at 1 January of the specified year. Concordance files are available from different years, to enable data for the same area classification to be compared over time.
The areas file can be used in conjunction with the geographic boundary files available on Stats NZ's Geographic Data Service.
Geographic areas files for earlier years are also available on Stats NZ’s Geographic Data Service.
From 2020 onwards, names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons, as applicable. Where a descriptor column has a macron, the corresponding column name without a macron is suffixed with ‘ascii’.
Table ID | 111243 |
---|---|
Data type | Table |
Row count | 57539 |
Services | Web Feature Service (WFS), Catalog Service (CS-W), data.govt.nz Atom Feed |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
You may use this work for commercial purposes.
You must attribute the creator in your own works.
This dataset was first added to Stats NZ Geographic Data Service on 05 Dec 2022.
This dataset is the definitive set of statistical area 1 (SA1) boundaries concorded to higher geographies for 2023. This version contains 33,164 SA1s, including 16 with empty or null geometries (non-digitised SA1s).
SA1 is an output geography that allows the release of more detailed information about population characteristics than is available at the meshblock level.
Built by joining meshblocks, SA1s have an ideal size range of 100–200 residents, and a maximum population of about 500. This is to minimise suppression of population data in multivariate statistics tables.
This SA1 higher geographies 2023 file is a correspondence, or concordance, which relates SA1s to larger geographic areas or 'higher geographies'. The higher geographies contained in this concordance are: statistical area 2 (SA22023), statistical area 3 (SA32023), urban rural (UR2023), and urban rural indicator (IUR2023), urban accessibility indicator (IUA), functional urban area (FUA), indicator functional urban area (IFUA) and functional urban area type (TFUA), territorial authority (TA2023), and regional council (REGC2023). The geography urban accessibility indicator (IUA), was first published in 2020 and added to this concordance in 2022.
For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023.
Generalised version
This generalised version has been simplified for rapid drawing and is designed for thematic or web mapping purposes.
Macrons
Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The column name for those without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.
Digital data
Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.
To download geographic classifications in table formats such as CSV please use Ariā
Layer ID | 111237 |
---|---|
Data type | Vector multipolygon | Feature count | 33164 (incl. 16 with empty or null geometries) |
Services | Vector Query API, Web Feature Service (WFS), Catalog Service (CS-W), data.govt.nz Atom Feed |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
You may use this work for commercial purposes.
You must attribute the creator in your own works.
This dataset was first added to Stats NZ Geographic Data Service on 01 Dec 2022.
This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released meshblock boundaries concorded to higher geographies as at 1 January 2023. This version contains 57,539 meshblocks, including 16 with empty or null geometries (non-digitised meshblocks).
Statistical geographies introduced since 2018 are:
2018: statistical area 1 (SA1), statistical area 2 (SA2), urban rural (UR), urban rural indicator (IUR) as part of the Statistical Standard for Geographic Areas 2018 (SSGA18) which replaced the 1992 New Zealand Standard Areas Classification (NZSAC92),
2020: urban accessibility indicator (IUA),
2021: functional urban area (FUA), functional urban area indicator (IFUA), functional urban area type (TFUA),
2023: statistical area 3 (SA3).
The higher geographies contained in this concordance are: meshblock (MB), landwater (LANDWATER),
statistical area 1 (SA1),
statistical area 2 (SA2),
statistical area 3 (SA3),
urban rural (UR), urban rural indicator (IUR), urban accessibility indicator (IUA),
functional urban area (FUA), functional urban area indicator (IFUA), functional urban area type (TFUA),
territorial authority (TA), territorial authority and local board (TALB),
regional council (REGC), constituency (CON), Māori constituency (MCON),
ward (WARD), Māori ward (MWARD),
community board (CB), subdivision (TASUB).
For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023.
A link to the Geographic Areas Table 2022 can be found here.
High definition version
This high definition (HD) version is the most detailed geometry, suitable for use in GIS for geometric analysis operations and for the computation of areas, centroids and other metrics. The HD version is aligned to the LINZ
Macrons
Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The column name for those without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.
Digital data
Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.
Layer ID | 111225 |
---|---|
Data type | Vector multipolygon | Feature count | 57539 (incl. 16 with empty or null geometries) |
Services | Vector Query API, Web Feature Service (WFS), Catalog Service (CS-W), data.govt.nz Atom Feed |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
You may use this work for commercial purposes.
You must attribute the creator in your own works.
This dataset was first added to Stats NZ Geographic Data Service on 30 Nov 2022.
2023 Functional Urban Area update
For the 2023 FUA, there have been minor updates from the 2018 FUAs to align with changes to urban rural (UR) boundaries and statistical area 1 (SA1) composition. FUA 2023 is still based on the analysis of 2018 Census of Population and Dwellings commuting data. The Wanaka urban area, whose population has grown to be more than 10,000 based on population estimates, has been reclassified to a medium urban area in the 2023 UR and a medium regional centre in the FUA type.
Description
This dataset is the definitive version of the Functional Urban Area boundaries as at 1 January 2023, as defined by Stats NZ.
The functional urban area (FUA) classification identifies small urban areas and rural areas that are integrated with major, large, and medium urban areas to create FUAs. In 2023, there are 53 FUAs,excluding ‘land area outside functional urban area’ (9001) and ‘water area outside functional urban area’ (9002). The FUA classificationuses the urban rural (UR) geography to demarcate urban areas, and statistical area 1 areas(SA1s) to demarcate surrounding hinterland (the commuting zone) within FUAs, and rural and water areas outside FUAs.
FUAs represent a populated urban core/s and its commuting zone. Workplace address and usual residence address data from the 2018 Census of Population and Dwellings were used to identify satellite urban areas (1,000–4,999 residents), rural settlements and other rural SA1s from which at least 40 percent of workers commuted to urban areas with more than 5,000 residents.
FUA numbering and naming
The FUA classification identifies FUAs by the name of the most highly populated urban area it contains, for example, the Christchurch FUA includes the Christchurch urban core and Rangiora, Kaiapoi, and Rolleston secondary urban cores. There is one exception to the naming rule. The Paraparaumu-Waikanae-Paekakariki conurbation and surrounding hinterland is named Kapiti Coast.
The FUA classification has a two-level hierarchical structure, joined together to create each FUA code. Level 1 is classified by FUA type (TFUA) a one-digit code and level 2, which has three-digit codes numbered approximately north to south. Some examples are: 1001 Auckland, 2001 Whangārei, 3001 Cambridge, and 4001 Kaitāia.
FUA type (TFUA)
FUAs are further categorised by population size. The urban core’s population rather than the entire FUA’s population is used to maintain consistency between the descriptions of UR urban area and FUA type. The categories are, by code:
1 Metropolitan area – more than 100,000 residents living in the urban core,
2 Large regional centre – urban core population 30,000–99,999,
3 Medium regional centre – urban core population 10,000–29,999,
4 Small regional centre – urban core population 5,000–9,999, and,
9 Area outside functional urban area.
The Greymouth urban area population is less than 10,000 but is classified as a medium regional centre, consistent with its treatment as a medium urban area in the UA classification.
To differentiate from the UR classification, when referring to FUAs by name, their FUA type should also be mentioned, for example, Christchurch metropolitan area, Whangarei regional centre.
FUA indicator (IFUA)
The IFUA classifies UR2023 urban areas and rural SA1s according to their character within their FUA. The indicators, with their codes in brackets, are:
• urban area within functional urban area – urban core (101), secondary urban core (102), satellite urban area (103),
• rural area within functional urban area – hinterland (201),
• area outside functional urban area – land area outside functional urban area (901), water area outside functional urban area (902).
Further information on the urban rural indicator is available on the Stats NZ classification tool Ariā.
For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023.
Clipped version
This clipped version has been created for cartographic purposes and so does not fully represent the official full extent boundaries.
Macrons
Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The column name for those without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.
Digital data
Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.
To download geographic classifications in table formats such as CSV please use Ariā
Layer ID | 111200 |
---|---|
Data type | Vector multipolygon | Feature count | 138 |
Services | Vector Query API, Web Feature Service (WFS), Catalog Service (CS-W), data.govt.nz Atom Feed |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
You may use this work for commercial purposes.
You must attribute the creator in your own works.
This dataset was first added to Stats NZ Geographic Data Service on 07 Dec 2022.
2023 Functional Urban Area update
For the 2023 FUA, there have been minor updates from the 2018 FUAs to align with changes to urban rural (UR) boundaries and statistical area 1 (SA1) composition. FUA 2023 is still based on the analysis of 2018 Census of Population and Dwellings commuting data. The Wanaka urban area, whose population has grown to be more than 10,000 based on population estimates, has been reclassified to a medium urban area in the 2023 UR and a medium regional centre in the FUA type.
Description
This dataset is the definitive version of the Functional Urban Area boundaries as at 1 January 2023, as defined by Stats NZ.
The functional urban area (FUA) classification identifies small urban areas and rural areas that are integrated with major, large, and medium urban areas to create FUAs. In 2023, there are 53 FUAs,excluding ‘land area outside functional urban area’ (9001) and ‘water area outside functional urban area’ (9002). The FUA classificationuses the urban rural (UR) geography to demarcate urban areas, and statistical area 1 areas(SA1s) to demarcate surrounding hinterland (the commuting zone) within FUAs, and rural and water areas outside FUAs.
FUAs represent a populated urban core/s and its commuting zone. Workplace address and usual residence address data from the 2018 Census of Population and Dwellings were used to identify satellite urban areas (1,000–4,999 residents), rural settlements and other rural SA1s from which at least 40 percent of workers commuted to urban areas with more than 5,000 residents.
FUA numbering and naming
The FUA classification identifies FUAs by the name of the most highly populated urban area it contains, for example, the Christchurch FUA includes the Christchurch urban core and Rangiora, Kaiapoi, and Rolleston secondary urban cores. There is one exception to the naming rule. The Paraparaumu-Waikanae-Paekakariki conurbation and surrounding hinterland is named Kapiti Coast.
The FUA classification has a two-level hierarchical structure, joined together to create each FUA code. Level 1 is classified by FUA type (TFUA) a one-digit code and level 2, which has three-digit codes numbered approximately north to south. Some examples are: 1001 Auckland, 2001 Whangārei, 3001 Cambridge, and 4001 Kaitāia.
FUA type (TFUA)
FUAs are further categorised by population size. The urban core’s population rather than the entire FUA’s population is used to maintain consistency between the descriptions of UR urban area and FUA type. The categories are, by code:
1 Metropolitan area – more than 100,000 residents living in the urban core,
2 Large regional centre – urban core population 30,000–99,999,
3 Medium regional centre – urban core population 10,000–29,999,
4 Small regional centre – urban core population 5,000–9,999, and,
9 Area outside functional urban area.
The Greymouth urban area population is less than 10,000 but is classified as a medium regional centre, consistent with its treatment as a medium urban area in the UA classification.
To differentiate from the UR classification, when referring to FUAs by name, their FUA type should also be mentioned, for example, Christchurch metropolitan area, Whangarei regional centre.
FUA indicator (IFUA)
The IFUA classifies UR2023 urban areas and rural SA1s according to their character within their FUA. The indicators, with their codes in brackets, are:
• urban area within functional urban area – urban core (101), secondary urban core (102), satellite urban area (103),
• rural area within functional urban area – hinterland (201),
• area outside functional urban area – land area outside functional urban area (901), water area outside functional urban area (902).
Further information on the urban rural indicator is available on the Stats NZ classification tool Ariā.
For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023.
Generalised version
This generalised version has been simplified for rapid drawing and is designed for thematic or web mapping purposes.
Macrons
Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The column name for those without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.
Digital data
Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.
Layer ID | 111270 |
---|---|
Data type | Vector multipolygon | Feature count | 138 |
Services | Vector Query API, Web Feature Service (WFS), Catalog Service (CS-W), data.govt.nz Atom Feed |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
You may use this work for commercial purposes.
You must attribute the creator in your own works.
This dataset was first added to Stats NZ Geographic Data Service on 30 Nov 2022.
Urban rural 2023 update
UR 2023 is the first major update of the geography since it was first created in 2018. The update is to ensure UR geographies are relevant and meet criteria before each five-yearly population and dwelling census. UR 2023 contains 13 new rural settlements and 7 new small urban areas. Updates were made to reflect real world change including new subdivisions and motorways, and to improve delineation of urban areas and rural settlements. The Wānaka urban area, whose population has grown to be more than 10,000 based on population estimates, has been reclassified to a medium urban area in the 2023 urban rural indicator.
In the 2023 classification there are:
This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released urban rural (UR) boundaries as at 1 January 2023 as defined by Stats NZ. This version contains 745 UR areas, including 195 urban areas and 402 rural settlements.
Urban rural (UR) is an output geography that classifies New Zealand into areas that share common urban or rural characteristics and is used to disseminate a broad range of Stats NZ’s social, demographic and economic statistics.
The UR separately identifies urban areas, rural settlements, other rural areas, and water areas. Urban areas and rural settlements are form-based geographies delineated by the inspection of aerial imagery, local government land designations on district plan maps, address registers, property title data, and any other available information. However, because the underlying meshblock pattern is used to define the geographies, boundaries may not align exactly with local government land designations or what can be seen in aerial images. Other rural areas, and bodies of water represent areas not included within an urban area.
Urban areas are built from the statistical area 2 (SA2) geography, while rural and water areas are built from the statistical area 1 (SA1) geography.
Non-digitised
The following 4 non-digitised UR areas have been aggregated from the 16 non-digitised meshblocks/SA2s.
6901; Oceanic outside region, 6902; Oceanic oil rigs, 6903; Islands outside region, 6904; Ross Dependency outside region.
UR numbering and naming
Each urban area and rural settlement is a single geographic entity with a name and a numeric code.
Other rural areas, inland water areas, and inlets are defined by territorial authority; oceanic areas are defined by regional council; and each have a name and a numeric code.
Urban rural codes have four digits. North Island locations start with a 1, South Island codes start with a 2, oceanic codes start with a 6 and non-digitised codes start with 69.
Urban rural indicator (IUR)
The accompanying urban rural indicator (IUR) classifies the urban, rural, and water areas by type. Urban areas are further classified by the size of their estimated resident population:
This was based on 2018 Census data and 2021 population estimates. Their IUR status (urban area size/rural settlement) may change if the 2023 Census population count moves them up or down a category.
The indicators, by name, with their codes in brackets, are:
urban area – major urban (11), large urban (12), medium urban (13), small urban (14),
rural area – rural settlement (21), rural other (22),
water – inland water (31), inlet (32), oceanic (33).
The urban rural indicator complements the urban rural geography and is an attribute in this dataset. Further information on the urban rural indicator is available on the Stats NZ classification and coding tool ARIA.
For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023.
Generalised version
This generalised version has been simplified for rapid drawing and is designed for thematic or web mapping purposes.
Macrons
Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The column name for those without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.
Digital data
Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.
To download geographic classifications in table formats such as CSV please use Ariā
Layer ID | 111198 |
---|---|
Data type | Vector multipolygon | Feature count | 745 (incl. 4 with empty or null geometries) |
Services | Vector Query API, Web Feature Service (WFS), Catalog Service (CS-W), data.govt.nz Atom Feed |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
You may use this work for commercial purposes.
You must attribute the creator in your own works.
This dataset was first added to Stats NZ Geographic Data Service on 30 Nov 2022.
Urban rural 2023 update
UR 2023 is the first major update of the geography since it was first created in 2018. The update is to ensure UR geographies are relevant and meet criteria before each five-yearly population and dwelling census. UR 2023 contains 13 new rural settlements and 7 new small urban areas. Updates were made to reflect real world change including new subdivisions and motorways, and to improve delineation of urban areas and rural settlements. The Wānaka urban area, whose population has grown to be more than 10,000 based on population estimates, has been reclassified to a medium urban area in the 2023 urban rural indicator.
In the 2023 classification there are:
This dataset is the definitive version of the annually released urban rural (UR) boundaries as at 1 January 2023 as defined by Stats NZ (the custodian), clipped to the coastline. This clipped version has been created for cartographic purposes and so does not fully represent the official full extent boundaries. This version contains 689 UR areas, including 195 urban areas and 402 rural settlements.
Urban rural (UR) is an output geography that classifies New Zealand into areas that share common urban or rural characteristics and is used to disseminate a broad range of Stats NZ’s social, demographic and economic statistics.
The UR separately identifies urban areas, rural settlements, other rural areas, and water areas. Urban areas and rural settlements are form-based geographies delineated by the inspection of aerial imagery, local government land designations on district plan maps, address registers, property title data, and any other available information. However, because the underlying meshblock pattern is used to define the geographies, boundaries may not align exactly with local government land designations or what can be seen in aerial images. Other rural areas, and bodies of water represent areas not included within an urban area.
Urban areas are built from the statistical area 2 (SA2) geography, while rural and water areas are built from the statistical area 1 (SA1) geography.
Non-digitised
The following 4 non-digitised UR areas have been aggregated from the 16 non-digitised meshblocks/SA2s.
6901; Oceanic outside region, 6902; Oceanic oil rigs, 6903; Islands outside region, 6904; Ross Dependency outside region.
UR numbering and naming
Each urban area and rural settlement is a single geographic entity with a name and a numeric code.
Other rural areas, inland water areas, and inlets are defined by territorial authority; oceanic areas are defined by regional council; and each have a name and a numeric code.
Urban rural codes have four digits. North Island locations start with a 1, South Island codes start with a 2, oceanic codes start with a 6 and non-digitised codes start with 69.
Urban rural indicator (IUR)
The accompanying urban rural indicator (IUR) classifies the urban, rural, and water areas by type. Urban areas are further classified by the size of their estimated resident population:
This was based on 2018 Census data and 2021 population estimates. Their IUR status (urban area size/rural settlement) may change if the 2023 Census population count moves them up or down a category.
The indicators, by name, with their codes in brackets, are:
urban area – major urban (11), large urban (12), medium urban (13), small urban (14),
rural area – rural settlement (21), rural other (22),
water – inland water (31), inlet (32), oceanic (33).
The urban rural indicator complements the urban rural geography and is an attribute in this dataset. Further information on the urban rural indicator is available on the Stats NZ classification and coding tool ARIA.
For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023.
Clipped version
This clipped version has been created for cartographic purposes and so does not fully represent the official full extent boundaries.
Macrons
Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The column name for those without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.
Digital data
Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.
To download geographic classifications in table formats such as CSV please use Ariā
Layer ID | 111196 |
---|---|
Data type | Vector multipolygon | Feature count | 689 |
Services | Vector Query API, Web Feature Service (WFS), Catalog Service (CS-W), data.govt.nz Atom Feed |