Far North Economic Data
The Far North District Council has a strong economic development focus. As part of Far North District Council's commitment to economic development it has developed a practical local strategy 'Far North Local Economic Development Strategy 2006 - 2011' to help improve the economic performance of the district. This compliments the regional strategy 'Strategy for the Sustainable Economic Development of Northland: Update 2007 - 2011'.
Far North District Council works closely with a number of agencies on the delivery of these strategies.
Far North Statistics
| Usually Resident Population 2006 | 55,845 |
| Usually Resident Population 2001 | 54,576 |
| Land Area | 7323km2 |
| People per km2 2006 | 7.6 (All NZ: 9.7) |
Recent Economic Trends
The 2005 BERL report contained within the Far North Local Economic Development Strategy 2006 - 2009 the following economic trends can be reported,
- Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the Far North increasing by 2.1% per annum.
- There has been a marked increase in business unit establishment within the Far North, now ranking 13th out of the 72 districts and cities (BERL 2006 report).
The main factors that have driven stronger growth in the service sectors include:
- Strong employment and income growth from the local production sectors;
- Moderate district-wide population growth, but strong population growth on the east coast.
- On-going increases in tourism and visitor numbers contributing to spending and demand for services.
Employment
- The unemployment rate in Far North District was 4.5 percent.
Income
- The median income of people in Far North District is $19,200.
