2010-11 Annual Report - Taranaki District Health Board

Profiling Taranaki
Mokau
Taranaki DHB
delivers health
services in Taranaki
and in the Mokau
area, which is part of
the Waikato District
Health Board. The
district covers more
than 7,000 square
kilometres. There
are a few densely
populated centres
in Taranaki such
as New Plymouth,
Stratford and
Hawera. The rest
of the population
is scattered in and
around small rural
centres.
Rahotu
New Plymouth
Oakura
Okato
Opunake
New Plymouth
District Population
68,901
New Plymouth District
Manaia
Waitara
Stratford
Eltham
Hawera
South Taranaki
District Population
26,487
Urenui
Stratford District
South Taranaki District
Patea
!
Whangamomona
Waverley
Stratford District
Population
8,892
Population Profile
According to Statistics New Zealand, Taranaki DHB serves a population of 104,280 people, or 2.8% of
New Zealand’s population. Between the 2001 and 2006 Census, the population usually resident in the
region increased by 1,266 or 1.2%.
The Māori population is projected to increase to 21.1% of the total population by 2026. The Māori,
Pacific and Asian populations have grown slightly since 2001 and the population identified as
European has declined, as at the 2006 Census. Taranaki has 8.1% identified as European and other,
15.2% as Māori, 1.3% as Pacific and 2.1% as Asian.
Age Structure
Our population is ageing. The proportion of people over the age of 64 is higher than the national
average. The proportion of people aged between 15 and 39 is lower than the national average. A
total of 21.8% are aged under 15 in Taranaki, while 47% of the Māori population is under 20.
Socio-Economic Indicators
The Taranaki population sits towards the centre of the socio-economic range. There are higher
percentages of people living in deciles 5-7 and lower in the decile four compared to the New
Zealand average. Approximately 82% of the Māori population is resident in deciles 6-10 compared
to 69% of non-Māori. Māori in decile four and five have a lower life expectancy than the most
deprived non-Māori.