Waikato


The Waikato is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupō District, and parts of the Rotorua Lakes District. It is governed by the Waikato Regional Council.
The Waikato stretches from Coromandel Peninsula in the north, to the north-eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu in the south, and spans the North Island from the west coast, through the Waikato and Hauraki to Coromandel Peninsula on the east coast. Broadly, the extent of the region is the Waikato River catchment. Other major catchments are those of the Waihou, Piako, Awakino and Mōkau rivers. The region is bounded by Auckland on the north, Bay of Plenty on the east, Hawke's Bay on the south-east, and Manawatū-Whanganui and Taranaki on the south. Waikato Region is the fourth largest region in the country in area and population: It has a land area of and a population of
The region encompasses all or part of eleven territorial authorities, the most of any region of New Zealand. It is centred on the Waikato which consists of Waikato District, Matamata-Piako District, Waipā District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City. In descending order of land area the eleven territorial authorities are Taupō District, Waikato District, Waitomo District, Thames-Coromandel District, Ōtorohanga District, South Waikato District, Matamata-Piako District, Waipā District, Hauraki District, Rotorua Lakes District, and Hamilton City.

Name and etymology

The name for the region is taken from the Waikato River; waikato is a Māori word traditionally translated as "flowing water".
When Waikato is used in spoken language some people use it in the definite article, "the Waikato", whereas some people do not use "the". It is unknown why a difference is made. "The" usually refers to a smaller region than the Waikato local government region. Two definitions that would meet with wide acceptance are those of the Waikato rugby football union and of Hamilton Waikato tourism.

Geography

To the west, the region is bounded by the Tasman Sea. The coastal region is largely rough hill country, known locally as the Hakarimata Range, though it is more gently undulating in the north, closer to the mouth of the Waikato River. The coast is punctured by three large natural harbours: Raglan Harbour, Aotea Harbour, and Kāwhia Harbour. The area around Raglan is noted for its volcanic black sand beaches and for its fine surfing conditions at Manu Bay and Ruapuke beach.
To the east of the coastal hills lies the broad alluvial plain of the Waikato River. This region has a wet temperate climate, and the land is largely pastoral farmland created by European settlers draining the extensive natural swamps, although it also contains undrained peat swamp such as the peat dome south of Ngatea. It is in the broad undulating Waikato Plains that most of the region's population resides, and the land is intensively farmed with both livestock, mainly dairy cattle but with sheep farming on the hillier west margins, and crops such as maize. The area around Cambridge has many thoroughbred stables.
The north of the region around Te Kauwhata produces some of New Zealand's best wines. Dozens of small shallow lakes lie in this area, the largest of which is Lake Waikare.
To the east, the land rises towards the forested slopes of the Kaimai and Mamaku Ranges. The upper reaches of the Waikato River are used for hydroelectricity, helped by several large artificial lakes in the region's south-east. The lowest and earliest-created such lake is Lake Karapiro, now developed as a world-class rowing centre, where the world championships were held in 2010. The river flows out of the country's largest lake, Lake Taupō, which is served by several important fishing rivers such as the Tongariro, on the Central Plateau, draining the eastern side of Mount Ruapehu and its neighbours.
The climate is mild and temperate with moderate rainfall of per annum, with the higher western hills having the most rain. Summers are drier with typical maximum temperatures of 22–28 degrees Celsius and overnight lows of 12–16 degrees. Summer droughts occur one year in ten. Typical winter maxima are 10–16 degrees Celsius, with lows generally ranging from 0–8 degrees. Depressions experience regular morning fog, under anticyclonic conditions, which burns off by late morning to produce many still, clear sunny days. Morning frosts are also common during winter anticyclones. Another distinctive feature is the low average wind speed in the interior basin due to the sheltering influence of the hills and mountains to the west and south-west. The prevailing winter wind is from the south-west. The Waikato has very high sunshine hours by world standards, averaging 2200 hours per year or about 40% higher than in the UK. This results in rapid growth of grass, crops and ornamental plants.
Hamilton Waikato takes in the local government areas of Hamilton City, the southern part of Waikato district, Waipā district, most of Matamata-Piako district and the South Waikato district. Hamilton Waikato tourism takes in additionally the northern part of Waikato district, the northern King Country, and the Te Aroha district.
The parts of Waikato region beyond these limits are usually identified as Thames Valley and/or Hauraki/Coromandel and Taupō, on the Volcanic or Central Plateau.

Demographics

Waikato Region covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Waikato Region had a population of 498,771 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 40,569 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 95,130 people since the 2013 census. There were 246,723 males, 250,380 females and 1,671 people of other genders in 180,006 dwellings. 2.8% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 37.9 years. There were 100,743 people aged under 15 years, 93,111 aged 15 to 29, 218,808 aged 30 to 64, and 86,109 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 71.7% European ; 25.2% Māori; 5.2% Pasifika; 12.2% Asian; 1.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 2.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 95.9%, Māori language by 6.3%, Samoan by 0.6% and other languages by 12.4%. No language could be spoken by 2.2%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 21.7, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 30.6% Christian, 2.2% Hindu, 1.2% Islam, 1.8% Māori religious beliefs, 0.9% Buddhist, 0.5% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 2.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 53.5%, and 7.4% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 65,295 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 212,241 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 101,277 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $40,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 40,746 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 200,928 people were employed full-time, 53,667 were part-time, and 12,165 were unemployed.

Cities and towns

The most populous city in the Waikato Region is Hamilton, with an urban population of. It is home to the University of Waikato and the Waikato Institute of Technology.
Other major towns in the region are Tokoroa, Te Awamutu, Cambridge and Taupō with respective populations of,, and.. The region also includes the smaller towns of Huntly, Matamata, Morrinsville, Ngāruawāhia, Ōtorohanga, Paeroa, Putāruru, Raglan, Te Aroha, Te Kauwhata, Te Kūiti, Thames, Tīrau, Tuakau, Tūrangi, Whangamatā and Whitianga.
NationalityPopulation
England17,907
India8,664
Australia7,314
South Africa6,936
China6,582
Philippines4,974
Fiji4,176
Netherlands2,490
Scotland2,196
United States1,893

Economy

The subnational gross domestic product of the Waikato region was estimated at NZ$25.84 billion in the year to March 2019, 8.5% of New Zealand's national GDP. The subnational GDP per capita was estimated at $54,128 in the same period. In the year to March 2018, primary industries contributed $3.14 billion to the regional GDP, goods-producing industries contributed $5.70 billion, service industries contributed $13.35 billion, and taxes and duties contributed $2.08 billion.
Between 2000 and 2004, Waikato economic growth was lower than the national average. But from 2004 to 2007, real gross regional product for the Waikato Region increased by 5 per cent per year compared with 3.2 per cent for the national average. This faster growth can be attributed to rapidly growing dairy and business services industries, facilitated by proximity to the Auckland city, the main international gateway for New Zealand.

Agriculture

Given the suitable geography and climate, the Waikato economy is strongly based on agriculture, especially dairy. Dairy farming has been the main agricultural activity since the late nineteenth century. Within the Waikato region, small co-operative dairy companies were widespread during the 20th century. Towards the end of the 20th century, frequent mergers of co-operative dairy companies occurred, which ultimately ended in the formation of New Zealand wide dairy co-operative Fonterra in 2001. In 2007, dairy farming and dairy processing combined contributed $2 billion to GRP, which had risen to $2.4bn by 2014, but only 13,683 of jobs in 2016.
Dairy farms are mainly family owned with owners employing sharemilkers in many cases. The size of the average dairy herd in the Waikato has progressively increased. It was about 320 cows in 2012 and in 2016 was about 351, milked in either a herringbone or automated rotary cowshed so a large herd can be milked in under two hours. The cows are kept on grassland pasture all year due to the mild climate. In the Waikato the original English grasses used by earlier settlers – browntop, fescue and Yorkshire Fog – have been replaced with higher producing Italian ryegrass and nitrogen-fixing white clover. Farmers use a variety of supplementary feeds in winter or during the infrequent summer droughts. Main feeds are hay, grass silage and chopped corn feed. The later is often fed out on a concrete pad to save transportation and wastage by trampling.