Auckland Inc grew by 29pc in 8 years

Two-thirds of New Zealand's imports and one-third of its exports pass through the Ports of Auckland's seven wharves.

Auckland's commercial sector has been growing rapidly, adding 36,000 new businesses between 2000 and 2008.

State of the Auckland Region, a 300-page Auckland Regional Council report, quantifies business growth and shows how 680,000 of the region's 1.3 million people are workers who are employed.

About 620,000 are not employed.

Auckland is crucial to New Zealand as a contributor. A third of the nation's businesses are in Auckland and in 2008 the region contributed 35 per cent to New Zealand's gross domestic product.

The 36,000 new businesses which arrived in the region in that eight-year period expanded the region's commercial sector by 29 per cent.

Of those new businesses, the biggest growth area was rental, hiring and real estate businesses with 12,619.

There were 6939 new finance and insurance businesses, 6511 new professional, scientific and technical services and 2118 new retail trade businesses or shops.

Manufacturing, shops and professional, scientific and technical services are Auckland's three biggest industries.

"Employment has been high, with labour-force participation at 68.5 per cent," the report said, citing data from the year to December last year.

Auckland is also a highly commercially orientated region.

"Although the Auckland region's economy has experienced growth in service-type industries - businesses that service the needs of a growing population - it is more oriented towards high value-added manufacturing and the business and finance service sectors than the rest of the country," the report said.

Industries cited as more important to Auckland than to New Zealand were finance, communication services, air transport, the manufacture of equipment, rubber, plastic and other chemicals and sheet and fabricated metal production.

Two-thirds of the country's imports and one-third of its exports pass through the Ports of Auckland's seven wharves. In 2007/08, 73 cruise ships arrived in Auckland, bringing about 6000 international passengers.

Many Aucklanders work for large firms: 33.8 per cent of the region's employees work in businesses with 100-plus staff.

But overall, small business dominates the region: 87 per cent of all business units have five employees or fewer, particularly in finance, insurance and property.

Most of the Auckland region is green - just 10 per cent of the land is urbanised.

Rural Auckland land fetches 2.6 times the price of pastoral land elsewhere. Dairying, horticulture and pastoral farming are prevalent uses.

Aucklanders' median annual household income rose 37 per cent from $47,892 in 2000 to $65,780 in 2007.

The area's inhabitants are becoming wealthier and spending more.

"The Auckland region has recently experienced a period of high population growth, high employment, a strong economy and a booming housing market," the report said, citing Auckland house prices doubling between 2003-2008 and rising annually about 20 per cent at the peak in late 2004 and early 2005.

The wealth effect, cheaper consumer goods prices, ready credit and rate of household consumption all mean the region's population has big spending power.