This dataset is the definitive set of annually released urban rural boundaries for 2020 as defined by Stats NZ. This version contains 721 urban rural categories.
The urban rural geography was introduced as part of the Statistical Standard for Geographic Areas 2018 (SSGA18) which replaced the New Zealand Standard Areas Classification (NZSAC92). The urban rural geography replaces the (NZSAC92) urban area geography.
Urban rural is an output geography that classifies New Zealand into areas that share common urban or rural characteristics and is used to disseminate a broad range of Stats NZ’s social, demographic and economic statistics.
Update: Following the 2018 Census ten rural settlements were reclassified as small urban areas in the Urban Rural 2020 classification. These are: Haruru, Ngunguru, Waipu, Parakai, Patumahoe Village, Pauanui, Pirongia, Mapua, Clyde and Lake Hawea.
The urban rural indicator complements the urban rural geography and is an attribute in this dataset. Further information on the urban rural indicator is available on the Stats NZ classification and coding tool ARIA.
Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The name field without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.
This generalised version has been simplified for rapid drawing and is designed for thematic or web mapping purposes.
Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007.
