page_title: List of cities in New Zealand
section_title: Population based on 2018 standard
hierarchical_section_title: List of cities in New Zealand / Urban areas by population / Population based on 2018 standard
caption_attribution_description: English: Looking south over Rotorua, New Zealand, from Mt Ngongotaha, north of the city.
context_page_description: The word "city" began to take on two meanings in New Zealand after the local government reforms of 1989. Before the reforms, a borough council with more than 20,000 people could be proclaimed a city. The boundaries of councils tended to follow the edge of the built-up area, so there was little difference between the urban area and the local government area.
  In 1989, the structure of the local government in New Zealand was significantly reorganised. The new district councils and city councils were nearly always much larger geographically, and they covered both urban land and the surrounding rural land. Many locations that once had had a "city council" are now governed by a "district council".
  The word "city" is used in a general sense to describe the urban areas of New Zealand, independent of local body boundaries. This informal usage is jealously guarded. The district government of the town of Gisborne, for example, adamantly described itself as the first "city" in the world to see the new millennium. However, Gisborne is governed by a "district council", though its status as a city is not generally disputed in New Zealand.
context_section_description: One of the roles of Statistics New Zealand is to define standards for geographical areas and those standards are the basis for determining population. Statistics New Zealand announced in late 2017 that the Statistical Standard for Geographic Areas 2018 (SSGA18) would replace the New Zealand Standard Areas Classification 1992 (NZSAC92). That change in standard most heavily impacted Wellington by being split into four, these being the Wellington city and Lower Hutt city "major urban areas" and Porirua and Upper Hutt "large urban areas". Wellington, as defined by Statistics New Zealand, approximately halved in size, and Lower Hutt first entered the city ranking in sixth place between Tauranga and Dunedin. Many satellite towns included within the NZSAC92 urban areas became urban areas in their own right under SSGA18, resulting in the addition of Hibiscus Coast (previously part of Auckland) to the list of large urban areas. Napier-Hastings was also split into its constituent cities rather than being one combined urban areas.
  The table below contains all "major urban areas" (100,000 or more residents) and all "large urban areas" (30,000 to 99,999 residents). The two urban areas that will next move from the "medium urban area" category to the "large urban area" category are Paraparaumu (28,900) and Timaru (28,300).
caption: Rotorua from Mt. Ngongotaha
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