Whanganui District


Whanganui District is one of the districts of New Zealand. It includes the city of Whanganui and surrounding areas.

Geography

Formerly spelled "Wanganui", the Whanganui District Council resulted from the amalgamation of Wanganui and Waitotara county councils and Wanganui City Council. The district has an area of 2,373 km². Much of the land in Whanganui District is rough hill country surrounding the valley of the Whanganui River. A large proportion of this is within the Whanganui National Park.
In 2015 the New Zealand Geographic Board, at the request of the Wanganui District Council, changed the name of the district from Wanganui District to Whanganui District, bringing the name in line with the spelling of the river.

Population

The district's population as of was All but some people in the Whanganui District live in the city itself, meaning there are few prominent outlying settlements. A small but notable village is Jerusalem.

Demographics

Whanganui District had a population of 45,309 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 3,156 people since the 2013 census, and an increase of 2,673 people since the 2006 census. There were 18,057 households. There were 21,912 males and 23,397 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.94 males per female. Of the total population, 8,937 people were aged up to 15 years, 7,692 were 15 to 29, 19,371 were 30 to 64, and 9,309 were 65 or older. Figures may not add up to the total due to rounding.
Ethnicities were 79.2% European/Pākehā, 26.3% Māori, 3.6% Pacific peoples, 4.1% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 12.3, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 48.3% had no religion, 37.3% were Christian, and 6.4% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 5,130 people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 8,427 people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $24,400. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 15,159 people were employed full-time, 5,406 were part-time, and 1,866 were unemployed.