Census: New numbers for biggest iwi in Whanganui-Manawatū

People affiliated to the Whanganui River gather at Tieke in January during the annual tribal Tira Hoe Waka journey from Taumarunui to Whanganui. Photo / Christa Hunziker

Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi remains the biggest iwi in Whanganui-Manawatū, with 16,863 people affiliating to it in 2023.

Ngāti Apa and Ngā Wairiki follow with a combined count of 5148.

The Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi population increased by 44.2% in the 10 years between 2013 and 2023, according to last year’s Census.

Data iwi leaders group Te Kāhui Raraunga said all iwi affiliation population counts had increased between 2013 and 2023 by an average of 46.3%.

Smaller iwi populations (under 1000 people) had the greatest increases – 202.2% on average.

Te Kāhui Raraunga said new Census data provided a more accurate insight for iwi because Māori now had the option to select up to 16 iwi affiliations in the Census whereas in previous counts they were limited to five.

This allowed Māori to identify their whakapapa in greater detail.

For iwi in the Ruapehu district, 3417 people identified as Ngāti Rangi, 2202 as Ngāti Hāua, 1980 as Uenuku, 651 as Tamahaki and 462 as Tamakana.

For Rangitīkei iwi, 2034 identified as Ngāti Hauiti, 1008 as Ngāti Whitikaupeka, 537 as Ngāti Hinemanu, 507 as Ngāti Tamakōpiri and 402 as Ngāi Te Ohuake.

For iwi in South Taranaki, 7323 people identified as Ngā Rauru.

New Zealand’s total Māori population count sits just below 1 million, an increase of 12.5% to 978,246 people compared with 869,850 in the 2018 Census.

The biggest iwi are Ngāpuhi (184,470), Ngāti Porou (102,480) and Ngāti Kahungunu (95,751).

Data from the 2023 Census showed 56.1% of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi were under the age of 30. .

Iwi populations nationally were youthful with, on average, 46.5% of individuals affiliated with an iwi being under the age of 25.

The median age for Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi was 26, slightly younger than the median age of the total Māori population (27.2 years) – and more than a decade younger than that of the total New Zealand population, which is 38.1 years.

Wāhine of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi (53.2%) outnumbered tāne (46.5%), and 4.8% belonged to the LGBTIQ+ community.

The Census showed 30.2% of tribal members could hold a conversation in te reo Māori, compared with 28.5% in Gisborne, 25.2% in the Bay of Plenty and 23.3% in Northland.

More than a quarter (25.6%) of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi members under the age of 15 speak te reo Māori, compared to 14.6% of all Māori under 15 years.

A total of 63.3% worked 40 hours or more a week and 65.2% of those aged 15 and over had full or part-time employment.

Just over 19% had personal income of more than $70,000 a year.

A total of 29.7% of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi aged 15-29 were not in the labour force, while 62.2% had full or part-time employment – 24.3% worked as professionals, 14.3% were managers and 13.3% were labourers.

Most workers reported working in healthcare and social assistance (11.3%) and education and training (11.2%).

Unpaid voluntary work was undertaken by 90% of tribal members in 2023.

The proportion of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi members receiving job seeker support was 6.5%, compared with 7.1% for all Māori.

In education, 21.9% were in full or part-time study. A total of 19.1% of tribal members had Level 3 certificate as their highest qualification and 17.1% held a tertiary qualification at bachelor’s degree (Level 7) or higher, compared with 14% nationally.

Society and culture was the field of study for most people from Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi in 2023, followed by management and commerce.

Smoking among Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi decreased from 30.2% in 2013 to 15% in 2023, with 52.2% having never smoked.

Those living with a disability numbered 9.2%.

The number of tribal members who owned or partly owned their own house in 2023 dropped to 27% from 29.5% in 2013.

More than half (54.2%) reported having no religious affiliation, compared to 26.6% reporting Christian religious affiliation and 11.1% reporting following “Māori religious, beliefs and philosophies”.

A total of 61.8% of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi wāhine aged 15 and over had at least one child born, compared with 60.4% of all Māori.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.