I—l 7

In 1867 practically two-thirds of the population of New Zealand were in the South Island and one third in the North Island. By 1945 the position was reversed, so that practically two-thirds of the population were in the North Island and only one-third in the South Island. The absolute numbers in both Islands, however, had considerably increased from 34,094 in 1858 to 1,050,984 in 1945 in the North Island, and from 25,319 in 1858 to 552,570 in 1945 in the South Island. A more detailed analysis of this internal distribution is given in the following table, where the percentages of the total population at various dates are given :

Table No. 54.—Table showing the Percentage Distribution of the Population in the various Provinces from 1881 to 1945

The table shows that over the period under review the relative position of the Auckland and Wellington Provinces has improved by approximately 75 per cent., while the relative position of Canterbury has fallen by 33 per cent, and the relative position of Otago has fallen by nearly 60 per cent. These figures relate to the relative, and not the absolute size of the population. That this movement is going on steadily, and tends to increase, is clearly shown by the following table :

Table No. 55.—Table showing the Populations of the various Provinces at various Censuses from 1921 to 1945

Both the above tables show in a marked fashion the relative importance of the Auckland Province from the point of view of the population of the Dominion. At the present time 35 per cent, (that is, one-third) of the population of New Zealand lives in the Auckland Province, and 21 per cent, (that is, one-fifth) in the Wellington Province. In other words, 56 per cent., or over one-half, of the population of New Zealand lives in the Auckland and Wellington Provinces combined.

35

>> Year. •6 cS M o "S D i H 3 a < q a r-H • 03 H 03 K H *<3 ( £ 'Sl 8 5. Total. 1881 .. 20-29 3-03 3-54 12-54 1 89 5-33 3-06 22-95 21-94 543 100-0 1886 .. 22-54 3-11 4^25 13-40 1 92 5-22 2-75 21-02 19-66 613 100-0 1891 .. 21-25 3-52 4-55 15 • 59 2 04 5-55 2 • 54 20-53 18-52 591 100-0 1896 .. 21-84 4-43 4-84 17-32 177 5-08 2-06 19-35 17-06 625 100-0 1901 .. 22-11 4-90 4-58 18-29 112 4-91 1-88 18-54 16-22 619 100-0 1906 .. 23-77 4-88 4-75 20-24 162 4-79 1 • 65 17-93 14-39 598 100-0 1911 .. 26-23 5-11 4-81 19-74 159 4-81 1-56 17-20 13-13 582 100-0 1916 .. 28-29 5-11 4-98 20-52 149 4-40 1-29 .16-39 12-08 545 100-0 1921 .. 30-32 5-08 5-00 20-41 146 3-91 1 • 16 16-33 11-23 510 100-0 1926 .. 31-58 5-07 4-88 20-34 136 3-77 1-13 15-91 11-12 484 100-0 1936 .. 32-70 4-92 4-72 20-62 124 3-97 1-24 15-62 10-11 486 100-0 1945 .. 35-47 4-49 4-47 21-11 125 3-55 1-05 15-30 8-96 4-35 100-0

(In thousands; excluding Maoris) Province. 1921. 1926. J 1936. 1945. Auckland .. 370 425 488 569 Hawke's Bay 61 66 70 72 Taranaki 62 68 73 72 Wellington 249 274 307 338 Marlborough .. .. .. 18 18 19 20 Nelson 48 51 59 . 57 Westland 14 15 19 17 Canterbury 199 214 233 245 Otago and Southland 199 215 223 213