Far North District

The Far North District is the northernmost territorial authority district of New Zealand, consisting of the northern part of the Northland Peninsula in the North Island. It stretches from North Cape / Otou and Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua in the north, down to the Bay of Islands, the Hokianga and the town of Kaikohe.

The Far North District Council is based in Kaikohe, and has ten ward councillors representing four wards: Te Hiku (in the north), Kaikohe-Hokianga (in the west), Bay of Islands-Whangaroa (in the east) and the district-wide Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori ward. The council is led by the current mayor of Far North, Moko Tepania, who entered the role in 2022.

Geography


The Far North District is the largest of three territorial authorities making up the Northland Region. The district stretches from the capes and bays at the northern tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula past Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe / Ninety Mile Beach to the main body of the Northland Peninsula, where it encompasses the Parengarenga Harbour, Whangaroa Harbour and Bay of Islands (on the east coast) and Hokianga (on the west coast).

It borders on the Kaipara and Whangarei Districts, which are the other two territorial authorities in the Northland Region.

Population
Far North District covers 6686.67 km2 and had an estimated population of as of  with a population density of  people per km2.

The district had a population of 71,430 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 6,180 people (9.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 15,696 people (28.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 33,072 dwellings. The median age was 44.3 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 14,193 people (19.9%) aged under 15 years, 10,914 (15.3%) aged 15 to 29, 30,588 (42.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 15,738 (22.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 64.6% European/Pākehā, 49.9% Māori, 5.4% Pasifika, 3.2% Asian, 0.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders, and 1.0% other. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Far North District had a population of 65,250 at the 2018 New Zealand census. There were 32,595 males and 32,655 females living in 22,761 households.

The percentage of people born overseas was 14.8, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 45.6% had no religion, 37.7% were Christian, 6.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.5% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 1.5% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 6,771 (13.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 10,965 (21.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $22,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. 4,581 people (9.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 20,163 (39.4%) people were employed full-time, 7,824 (15.3%) were part-time, and 3,387 (6.6%) were unemployed.

Urban areas and settlements
The Far North District has eight towns with a population over 1,000. Together they are home to (0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0)/0*100% of the district's population. The northernmost town in the district is Kaitaia. Kerikeri, Moerewa, Kawakawa, Paihia, Opua and Russell are clustered on the east coast around the Bay of Islands with Kaikohe centrally situated to their west. Another cluster of small settlements, Ōmāpere, Opononi, Rawene, Panguru, Kohukohu, and Horeke, surrounds the Hokianga Harbour on the west coast.