Forecast of growth in population

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33052, 20 October 1972, Page 7

Forecast of growth in population

By 1991 the population of Christchurch will increase to be more than the present populations of Christchurch and Dunedin combined, Blenheim will become a city, and the population of Westland will fall—the only region in the country to show a population decrease.

These forecasts are contained in a survey prepared by the Town and Country Planning Division of the Ministry of Works, which suggests also that 84 per cent of the population growth in New Zealand over the next 20 years will be in the North Island, and half of this will be in the Auckland area. The growth of Auckland up to 1991 will be equivalent to adding the present populations of Wellington, Dunedin. and Hamilton, the survey forecasts. The population of Christchurch will be about 391,000, or an increase of 115,000. Blenheim’s population is expected to increase by 8000 and will join Tokoroa, Taupo, Masterton, and Levin, as new cities by 1991. Rangiora, Alexandra, and Queenstown are also expected to grow rapidly, but Tauranga and Rotorua will have the fastest growth rates of all urban areas, their population more

than doubling in the next 20 years. Regional forecasts suggest that the population of Westland will drop by about 500, but all other regions are expected to increase. The total of the forecasts give New Zealand a population of 4,130,000 by 1991, an increase of more than a million and a quarter.