The ethnic geography of New Zealand: A decade of growth and change, 1991-2001

New Zealand's population growth of 10 per cent over the decade 1991-2001 resulted substantially from an increasing number of those claiming Pacific Island and Asian ethnicity, and to a lesser extent of the New Zealand Maori. Using census data for a comparable set of small areas with average populations of just over 100, this paper examines the changing geography of the four main ethnic categories - New Zealand European, New Zealand Maori, Pacific Island Peoples, and Asians - across the country as a whole and in its major settlements, especially Auckland. There is little extreme segregation of the three minority groups, but most of the Europeans live in areas where there is little exposure to those of other ethnicities. Most of the changes in segregation reflect the growth of Auckland's Pacific Island and, especially, Asian populations.