Wellington
Welcome to Wellington - Te Whanganui-a-Tara
Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and centre of the Wellington region, sits near the North Island’s southernmost point on the Cook Strait. A compact city, it encompasses a waterfront promenade, sandy beaches, a working harbour and colourful timber houses on surrounding hills. From Lambton Quay, the iconic red Wellington Cable Car heads to the Wellington Botanic Gardens. Strong winds through the Cook Strait give it the nickname "Windy Wellington."
Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: Te Upoko o te Ika), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of 8,049 square kilometres (3,108 sq mi), and has a population of 550,500 (June 2023).
The Wellington urban area, including the cities of Wellington, Porirua, Lower Hutt, and Upper Hutt, accounts for 79 percent of the region's population; other major urban areas include the Kapiti conurbation (Waikanae, Paraparaumu, Raumati Beach, Raumati South, and Paekākāriki) and the town of Masterton.
Demographics
Respondents in the 2023 census were 72.6% European (Pākehā); 15.5% Māori; 9.1% Pasifika; 15.2% Asian; 2.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.2%, Māori language by 3.9%, Samoan by 2.8% and other languages by 17.2%. No language could be spoken by 2.0% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 28.1, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Economy
GDP for the region is circa $50,174m and growing (2023), representing a little over 13% of the national GDP for the same period. It possessed 322,579 filled jobs in 2023, over 43% of those jobs were classified as 'highly skilled. Average household income sat at $148.474 in 2023. As one would expect, the capital city's largest industry was professional, scientific and technical services followed closely by public administration and safety. The largest exports were in the meat and meat product manufacturing ($888.2m) followed by information media services ($7220.3m).
Capital of New Zealand
Wellington
Wellington Regional Development Agency
WellingtonNZ is the Wellington Region’s Economic Development Agency tasked with enhancing prosperity, vibrancy, and liveability across the region.
It's mission is to create a thriving region for all; with more businesses succeeding and employing more people, more people participating in and attending events and experiences, and supporting more collaboration and engagement across the region.
WellingtonNZ's ambition is to promote Wellington as a region to visit, live, study, work, do business and invest. Through Wellington storytelling, it brings Wellington to the world and in turn, bring the world to Wellington. It supports businesses to build capability, attracting, hosting and investing in events, running civic venues, marketing and storytelling, and destination development.
WellingtonNZ is also the owner of Creative HQ, an innovation agency that supports business founders, startups, and corporates via incubation, acceleration, and innovation programmes. Wellington NZ receives funding from Wellington City Council, the Greater Wellington Regional Council, Central Government, and a range of private sector partners. Each year its work contributes to tens of millions of dollars of economic benefit for the region.
Strategy
The Region's economic development plan guides the long-term direction of Wellington’s economy. Its vision is to build a future-focused, creative, sustainable, and thriving region for all to be proud of.
Focus areas
The REDP identifies issues and opportunities in four key focus areas that can help with the above goals. These sectors have potential growth opportunities and contribute to our regional identity. They are:
-
Screen, creative and digital.
-
Science, technology, engineering and high-value manufacturing.
-
Visitor economy.
-
Primary sector, food, and fibre.
The plan also supports and advocates for four key enablers. These will help unlock, leverage and build resilience in our businesses, iwi, and communities. They are:
-
Māori economic development.
-
Skills, talent and education.
-
Water accessibility and security.
-
Resilient infrastructure.
Economic Development Initiatives in Wellington