Geography
Waitakere City has an area of 367km2, with the urban area being 25.8km2, and a population of nearly 200,000.
Culture
In the reigion 71.9% of people are of European decent, 14.5% of Pacific Island, 11.0% Asian and 11.0% Maori, with 68% born in New Zealand.
English is spoken by just about all residents, but around 5% of people also speak Samoan and a similar amount speak Maori.
Employment The average annual wage for a Waitakere resident is $20,800, higher than the national average of $18,500. 28.9% of people have some form of tertiary education, but 26.6% leave school with no formal qualifications, these are both lower than national averages. Unemployment is currently running at about 8.3%. The majority of the population who work in Waitakere work in manufacturing around 10% or so, followed by retail at around 8%.