Census 2023: Stats NZ confirms number of general electorates to reduce by one

The number of general electorates in New Zealand will reduce by one seat at the next general election.

Stats NZ has confirmed the changes following the release of the 2023 Census results.

The seat will be lost in the North Island which will decrease from 49 to 48 electorates. It is not yet known which seat will be lost.

Given New Zealand has 120 parliamentary seats (excluding overhang), this also means there will be one more list seat.

In total, there will be 71 electorate seats and 49 list seats.

The number of Māori electorates will remain the same – at seven. Meanwhile, the number of general electorates in the South Island, by law, is fixed constant at 16.

Electoral populations – and therefore general electorates – are based on the latest Census data including population and dwellings data, and Māori electoral option data.

New electorate boundaries will be drawn based on this latest data and population projections.

One of the Māori electorates – Ikaroa-Rāwhiti – will also have its boundaries redrawn because its electoral population currently sits outside the 5% tolerance.

The quota for general electorates is 69,875 people in the North Island and 70,037 people in the South Island.

For Māori electorates, the quota is 74,367 people. Each electorate population is required to be within 5% of the quota.

The Census population count – which includes people who were in New Zealand on Census night – was 4,993,923 – almost 300,000 more people than the 2018 Census.

The general electoral population of the North Island is 3,353,982, up 5.5% from 2018.

For the South Island it is 1,120,593, up 7% from 2018.

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.