North Island

North Island

Te Ika-a-Māui (Māori)
North Island
Geography
Location	Oceania
Coordinates	39°S 176°E / 39°S 176°E / -39; 176
Archipelago	New Zealand
Major islands	North Island
Area	113,729 km2 (43,911 sq mi)
Area rank	14th
Highest elevation	2,797 m (9177 ft)
Highest point	Mount Ruapehu
Administration
New Zealand
ISO 3166-2:NZ	NZ-N
Regions	9
Territorial authorities	43
Largest settlement	Auckland (pop. 1,531,400)
Demographics
Demonym	North Islander
Population	4,077,800 (June 2024)
Pop. density	35.9/km2 (93/sq mi)
Ethnic groups	European (63.1%), Māori (19.8%), Asian (19.3%), Pacific peoples (10.6%)

The North Island (Māori: Te Ika-a-Māui [tɛ i.kɐ ɐ mɑː.ʉ.i], lit. 'the fish of Māui', officially North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui or historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of 113,729 km² (43,911 sq mi),^[1] it is the world's 14th-largest island, constituting 43% of New Zealand's land area. It has a population of 4,077,800 (June 2024),^[2] which is 76% of New Zealand's residents,^[3] making it the most populous island in Polynesia and the 28th-most-populous island in the world.

Twelve main urban areas (half of them officially cities) are in the North Island. From north to south, they are Whangārei, Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Napier, Hastings, Whanganui, Palmerston North, and New Zealand's capital city Wellington, which is located at the south-west tip of the island.