This is New Zealand's Pokemon capital

NZ Herald

4 Aug, 2016 12:30 AM2 mins to read

Pokemon trainers in Dunedin have the best chance of catching them all, according to figures collected by Statistics NZ.

The country's statistics bureau has collected population insights for the Pokemon that appear on the smartphone game Pokemon Go that has swept up millions of players across the world.

According to the figures, there are 446,000 Pokemon in New Zealand and 6,200 are active across the country at any given moment.

Dunedin has the most Pokemon per capita, with around 15 of the critters per 10,000 people.

Pokemon statistical analyst Bridget Snodgbrass said Dunedin dwellers had the best chance of catching all the Pokemon around.

"While Statistics NZ does not collect population information on Pokémon types, we believe this peak may be due to Dunedin's varied terrain attracting a wide range of Pokémon types," she said.

If you're hunting for Pokemon during the day you'll find the most per square kilometre in Auckland central east area and Lambton Quay in Wellington. Statistics NZ recorded 41 Pokemon per sqkm in Auckland central east area and 40 per square kilometre in Lambton Quay.

For night-time hunters, Auckland Central East and the Willis Street to Cambridge Terrace area in Wellington are the best spots - with 18 and 12 Pokemon per square kilometre, respectively.

The South Island hot spot is Riccarton South in Christchurch during the daytime - with 10 Pokemon per square kilometre. At night, it's Riccarton West - with nine Pokemon per square kilometre.

The population of Pokemon correlates to the human population across New Zealand, Snodgrass said.

"Each of our three major centres - Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch - have several hundred active Pokémon at any one time."

Pokemon spawning is determined by Google Traffic data, which is effectively a measure of android phones in an area at a time. Snodgrass used data from Statistics NZ on population and market research data from Frost and Sullivan to determine android market share in New Zealand to reach the conclusions.