South Taranaki is a territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island that contains the towns of Hāwera (the seat of the district), Manaia, Ōpunake, Patea, Eltham, and Waverley. The District has a land area of 3,575.46 km (1,380.49 sq mi) and a population of 29,600 (June 2023). It is part of the greater Taranaki Region.

The district straddles the boundary separating the Wellington and Taranaki provinces, resulting in the town of Waverley celebrating Wellington Anniversary Day in January, and the town of Patea 15 kilometres away celebrating Taranaki Anniversary Day in March.

Council facilities include the South Taranaki LibraryPlus, Mania, Kaponga, Patea, Eltham, Opunake, Hāwera and Waverley libraries.

History

The South Taranaki District was established as part of the 1989 local government reforms, merging Egmont, Eltham, Hawera, Patea and Waimate West counties.

Demographics

South Taranaki District covers 3,575.08 km (1,380.35 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 29,600 as of June 2023, with a population density of 8.3 people per km.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	26,487	—
2013	26,580	+0.05%
2018	27,534	+0.71%
2023	29,025	+1.06%
Source:

Ethnicities, 2023 Census

Ethnicity	Population
New Zealand European	23,265
Māori	8,496
Pasifika	861
Asian	1,152
MELAA	129
Other	381

South Taranaki District had a population of 29,025 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,491 people (5.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 2,445 people (9.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 12,480 dwellings. The median age was 39.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 6,171 people (21.3%) aged under 15 years, 4,830 (16.6%) aged 15 to 29, 12,909 (44.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 5,115 (17.6%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 80.2% European/Pākehā, 29.3% Māori, 3.0% Pasifika, 4.0% Asian, 0.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders, and 1.3% other. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

South Taranaki District had a population of 27,534 at the 2018 New Zealand census. There were 10,668 households, comprising 13,971 males and 13,566 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.03 males per female.

The percentage of people born overseas was 8.9, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 51.0% had no religion, 35.8% were Christian, 1.9% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.7% were Hindu, 0.3% were Muslim, 0.3% were Buddhist and 1.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 2,007 (9.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 6,162 (28.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $28,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 2,862 people (13.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 10,398 (48.8%) people were employed full-time, 3,051 (14.3%) were part-time, and 942 (4.4%) were unemployed.

Individual wards (2018 boundaries and names)

Name	Area (km)	Population	Density (per km)	Households	Median age	Median income
Egmont Plains Ward	860.42	6,345	7.37	2,412	36.4 years	$29,900
Eltham Ward	538.17	4,029	26.07	1,557	37.2 years	$28,000
Tangahoe Ward	491.32	2,859	5.82	1,053	38.2 years	$40,100
Hawera-Normanby Ward	17.27	10,413	602.95	4,011	38.8 years	$27,900
Patea Ward	1,667.96	3,891	2.33	1,635	43.2 years	$24,000
New Zealand					37.4 years	$31,800

Government

The current mayor is Phil Nixon. The deputy mayor is Robert Northcott.