What is an electorate?
An electorate is a geographic area that is only used for one thing: voting in elections. New Zealand has 72 electorates, made up of seven Māori electorates and 65 general electorates, which cover the entire country. Electorates can be very different sizes as their boundaries are decided by the population living within the electorate, rather than covering a certain geographic area.
One of the votes you cast in a general election will be for a candidate to represent your electorate in Parliament. The candidate who wins the most votes becomes your local member of Parliament.
If you’re not sure which electorate you’re in, find out here.
What are electorate profiles?
From East Coast Bays to the East Coast, Coromandel to Southland—electorate profiles are a great way to learn more about the place you live, the people who live there, and the differences between our 72 electorates.
These profiles are produced by the Parliamentary Library, and have been updated in 2021 to include up to date 2020 general election results, and deprivation maps.
They are the only source of census information presented by electorate, through which you can learn about each electorate’s history, economic and social well-being, industries, education, health, culture and identity, and population. They also include information about previous election results, maps, and information about electorate boundaries and history.
Each profile includes information on the iwi, hapū, and Māori groups with interests in the electorate. They also include information on both Māori ethnicity and Māori descent from the 2018 census, and iwi affiliation data from the 2013 census (2018 data is not available.)
Check out the 2020 electorate profiles here.
What can you learn from an electorate profile?
Knowing about your community and the people who live there is important for our democracy.
Having an understanding of how many we are and where we live underpins the electoral system and is the basis for a fair and representative democracy. Understanding who we are and how we work is important for public policy, government decision-making, business purposes, and the efficient functioning of a modern economy.
These profiles are also an important source of historical and statistical information for voters, MPs, and candidates, and can help with understanding the diversity of communities and constituents within our electorates.
For example, did you know:
The Christchurch Central electorate has experienced an average annual population growth of 1.2% after losing 2.3% of its population between Census 2006 and Census 2013, due mostly to the Canterbury earthquakes.
In the Māori electorate Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, the industry employing the greatest proportion of the Māori descent population over 15 was manufacturing (13.1%), followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (12.8%).
In the Whangaparāoa electorate, over one-third (35.4%) of the electorate’s population was born overseas, with almost one-fifth (19.7%) arriving four years ago or less.
The Northland electorate had the second-highest proportion in the country of those:
- from the Māori ethnic group (41.1%),
- Who could speak Māori (12.3%),
- Affiliated with Māori religions, beliefs and philosophies (5.1%).
You can even look back through historical profiles to learn more about how your electorate has changed, and discover its history. Please note the 2017, 2011, and 2005 content are now located on the historical electorate profiles page.
For more information, contact the Parliamentary Information Service at Parlinfo@parliament.govt.nz.