An Introduction to Palmerston North

Palmerston North is a thriving, vibrant City with a growing population and buoyant economy.

The lifestyle is easy and the people have opportunities to enjoy a wide range of activities within a safe, caring community and a sustainable environment.

Population

Palmerston North has an estimated population of 80,000. Compared to the demographics of the rest of New Zealand, Palmerston North has a young population (especially high in the 15-29 year old category). This is reflective of the City's educational strengths.

Area and Location

Palmerston North covers an area of 32,594 hectares and is the geographical centre of New Zealand. One million people live within a two hour (200km) radius. The City is a major rail centre with the main trunk line. State Highway 1 passes through the region and there are excellent roading connections north, south, east and west.

Palmerston North Airport has domestic services to all of major cities as well as numerous provincial centres. It also has the record for being open the most days of any New Zealand airport. All of this means that the City and the Region have major advantages as visitor destinations and for national distribution industries. The urban area of the City is a service base for a large rural area, some of which is within the City boundary.

Economy

The tertiary education sector provides a massive $1 billion dollars to the economy every year through direct and indirect spending. The total number of direct and downstream jobs generated by the tertiary sector is over 4,300 or 13% of all jobs in Palmerston North.

Palmerston North also has economic strengths in research (especially the bio-industry sector, smart business (entrepreneurial, innovative, highly skilled and technologically advanced businesses), defence and distribution.

The Manawatu-Wanganui region experienced the third strongest economic growth in New Zealand for the 2005/06 year, with a 3.3% increase.


Education

The City boasts a wide range of educational facilities, including a leading university, polytechnic, wananga, multicultural language school and a number of other specialised tertiary education institutes. With its great reputation, the City is able to attract both staff and students from throughout the world. Four out of every 10 people in the City either work at or attend an educational institution.