Region & Population

Whanganui District Health Board serves a population of 62,210 (Census 2006, Statistics New Zealand) which includes the Whanganui and Rangitikei Territorial Authority areas, and the Ruapehu Territorial Authority area wards of Waimarino and Waiouru, known as South Ruapehu.

The district covers a total land area of 9,742 square kilometres, much of which is sparsely populated.  The terrain is mountainous with two major centres, Whanganui City with a population of 39,990 and Marton with a population of 4,680.  The major centres are supported by five smaller towns with a population less than 2000 - Waiouru 1,380, Taihape 1,790, Bulls 1,660, Ohakune 1,100 and Raetihi 1,040. (Census 2006,
Statistics New Zealand).


Population Characteristics

Compared to the New Zealand average, the population of Whanganui is characterised by a large percentage of Māori (23%), a small but growing populations of Pacific peoples and Asian people (2% each group), a higher percentage of young people under 15 years of age (22%) and a relatively large percentage of older people (16%).

The district is also home to a higher percentage of children and young people, with 22.2% less than 15 years of age (as compared to 21.5% for New Zealand), of which 37.0% are of Māori ethnicity.  This reflects the younger Māori population structure as in the rest of the country.

Whanganui has a higher than average population of older aged citizens – with 15.7% older than 65 years of age (compared to 12.3% for the rest of the country in 2006).  It is forecast that in the next 10 years, 20% of the Whanganui population will be older than 65 years of age.  As older people, like young people, are high health care users, this demographic change has real implications to future provision of health services.

Whanganui District Health Board has no district specific disability information, but can assume from the National Disability Survey (2001) that overall one in five people have a disability.  For the over 65 population this proportion increase to one in two people.  Therefore, in the district health board area around 12,400 people have a disability, of these around 5,280 people are over 65 years. 


Population Predictions

Population predictions provide some specific challenges for the Whanganui District Health Board in relation to both the planning and funding and the provision of services in the future.

The main population predictions for our region are:

• A projected decreasing population which is expected to drop 9% to 57,100 by 2021 (New Zealand Statistics medium projections)
• A high proportion of Māori, currently 23.2% (census 2006, Statistics New Zealand), which will increase to 28%, from 14,410 to 16,210 by 2026
• A high proportion of older people, currently 15.7% (census 2006, Statistics New Zealand), which will increase to 26%, from 9,770 to 15,270 by 2026

These predictions provide some specific challenges for the Whanganui District Health Board in relation to both the planning and funding and the provision of services in the future.