- In 2006, the majority of Māori (87.0 percent) lived in the North Island and just under one-quarter were in the Auckland Region (24.3 percent).
- There were 73,230 Māori living in the South Island in 2006, an increase of 13.3 percent (8,580 people), since the 2001 Census.
- Areas with the highest proportion of Māori were Chatham Islands Territory (64.4 percent), Kawerau (61.1 percent), Wairoa (60.7 percent) and Opotiki (59.3 percent) Districts.
- In 1956, nearly two-thirds of Māori lived in rural areas. Fifty years later, 84.4 percent of Māori usually living in New Zealand lived in urban areas.
Note: The Māori ethnic population includes those people who stated Māori as being their sole ethnic group or one of several ethnic groups.