Environment
With the miles and miles of open sea, 160 kilometres of coastline, 13 clean, fast flowing rivers and 11,200 hectares of native bush and scrubland, the Opotiki District is the perfect place for a community that appreciates and enjoys outdoor activities and a natural environment.  The district comprises 25% of the Bay of Plenty region and contains 50% of the Bay of Plenty coastline.

Population
A little over 9,000 people live in the Opotiki District.  Each year more than 30,000 visitors experience the environment that we are lucky enough to call home.  Approximately one half of the resident population lives in the Opotiki township with the remainder of the population living in smaller outlying communities.   There are twenty marae in the district, which are a focal point for local communities, along with a number of strong farming, lifestyle and coastal settlements.
Our Ethnicity
In the 2006 Census 59% of people in the Opotiki District said they belong to the Maori ethnic group and 48% identified with the European ethnic group.  There was a small proportion of Pacific Islanders, 2.6%, and 0.9% of Asians in the community. 

The economy
The economy is driven primarily by agriculture with 410 farms amounting to a total area of 75,660ha.  38% of this area is in beef and dairy farms, 29% in planted forests and 1% in horticulture units.  The majority of horticultural land is planted in kiwifruit with plans for further development within this industry.
Labour Force Participation
In the 2006 Census 9.6% of working age people were unemployed compared with 5.1% nationally.
Income
The median income for working age people in the Opotiki District was $17,400 in 2006 compared with $24,400 nationally.  In 2006 nearly 57% of working age people have an annual income of $20,000 or less, compared with almost 70% in 2001.

Development
Although a high proportion of residents (52%) own the homes that they live in which is slightly less than the national figure.  Almost a third of the district population lives in accommodation they do not own and, according to statistics, this trend is likely to increase.
Over the past three years there has been a steady increase in both the number of consents issued by the Council and the value of the building consents.  Added to this, the total value of house sales in the district has increased steadily over the past three years.

The resident population of the Opotiki District is expected to increase by around 10% (1 % per annum) to reach 10,040 by 2016 and visitor numbers to the district are expected to steadily increase at a rate of 5% per year. 
Opotiki’s infrastructure has capacity to cope with a higher rate of growth than this.