Our District

The Far North is the northernmost district in New Zealand, sharing its southern boundaries with Kaipara and Whangarei Districts.

Together, the three districts make up the Northern Region. With 7,324 square km's, the Far North District is the largest of the three districts, contributing 54% of the land area and 38% of the region's population. This land area includes a significant amount of unrateable land belonging to Department of Conservation and Māori. The number of rateable properties is 35,373. The Far North District Council is the second largest local authority in terms of land area in the North Island after the new Auckland super city.

The district also has 2,347km's of coastline which includes offshore islands and 9 major harbours. Most of the land is rural, resulting in 15 widely dispersed small urban settlements with populations of between 500 and 6,000 people. The three service towns of Kerikeri, Kaikohe and Kaitaia have the largest permanent populations. Home ownership in the Far North is higher than the average for New Zealand and rental costs are lower compared with the national average.

The district in 2011 had an 18,180-strong labour force with a varied skill base, in part mirroring the district's diverse heritage, culture and knowledge. This diversity gives the district's people the opportunity to make lifestyle choices. The district was serviced by 7,626 local businesses. The retail sector employs the largest percentage of workers at 14%.

The 2006 census put the usual resident population of the Far North District at 55,845. Because of the Christchurch earthquake the new census has been postponed to 2012. However, the population for the district is predicted to currently be 59,100 by Statistics New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 39.6% of the district's population indicated that they belonged to the New Zealand Māori ethnicity group. This compares with a national average for Māori ethnicity of 14%. Between 2001 and 2006, the Far North's population grew by 2.3% with substantially higher levels of growth in many settlements on the eastern seaboard. In addition, the Far North receives a large influx of visitors during the summer season with population conservatively estimated at 110,000 at any one time. Drawn by the region's beautiful beaches and harbours, these visitors more than treble the population of some coastal settlements at peak times.

At the last census there were about 16,000 families in the district of which approximately half have children. The average household size was about 2.7 people, which equates with the national average.

Major revenue earning industries for the Far North are agriculture (including forestry and horticulture), tourism, aquaculture and fishing. Tourism and agriculture continue to be real growth industries as the attractions of the district and its environmental values become more widely recognised internationally.