Population

Population: 478,600 (June 2009 estimate)
In the 2006 Census, Wellington had the second-highest Asian population (8.4%) and the second-highest Pacific Islander population (8.0%), with 26.1% of Wellingtonians being born outside New Zealand, second only to Auckland (40.4%). Wellington City had the largest population of the four city council areas with 179,466 people, followed by Lower Hutt City, Porirua, and Upper Hutt City. Other main centres of population are on the Kapiti Coast and in the fertile farming areas close to the upper Ruamahanga River in the Wairarapa. Along the Kapiti Coast, numerous small towns sit close together, many of them close to popular beaches. From the north, these include Otaki, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, the twin settlements of Raumati Beach and Raumati South, Paekakariki and Pukerua Bay, the last of which is a northern suburb of Porirua. Each of these settlements has a population of between 2,000 and 10,000, making this a moderately heavily populated coastline. In the Wairarapa the largest community by a considerable margin is Masterton, with a population of almost 20,000. Other towns in the area include Featherston, Martinborough, Carterton and Greytown. In 2009 Wellington was judged to have the 12th best quality of living in the world, a ranking holding steady from 2007, according to a study by consulting company Mercer. Of cities with English as the primary language, Wellington ranked fourth in 2007. Of cities in the Asia Pacific region, Wellington ranked third (2009) behind Auckland and Sydney, Australia.

Land area: 8,140 km2 (3,142.9 sq mi)

Main Centres: Wellington city, Porirua, Hutt City, Upper Hutt, Kapiti Coast

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