Hawke’s Bay’s population has grown from 166,368 in 2018 to 175,074 in 2023, or 5.23 per cent overall.
Within that, Central Hawke’s Bay grew the fastest proportionally, with a 9.5 per cent increase from 2018 to 2023, while Napier City had a 3.9 per cent growth in its population.
The hastings district grew by 5.4 per cent and the Wairoa district grew by 5.5 per cent.
Hawke’s Bay’s Māori population has grown slightly in both number and relative size, from 48,696 in 2018 (29.27 per cent of the population) to 53,502 in 2023 (30.56 per cent of the population).
Māori were 17.8 per cent of Aotearoa’s population in 2023.
Government statistician and Stats NZ chief executive Mark Sowden said in a statement one in five people nationally were of Māori descent based on whakapapa.
“There was a 12.5 per cent (108,396 people) increase in the Māori descent Census population between 2018 and 2023, to nearly one million people (978,246),” Sowden said.
The definition of “Māori descent” used in the census is explained further by the Stats NZ data quality statement published with the data as being based on a genealogical or biological concept.
“For the purposes of the Māori descent classification, having Cook Island Māori ancestry is not classified as being of Māori descent,” the quality statement said.