Here are some Southland "Vital Statistics". They include the sort of facts and figures you can use to compare this unknown territory with places with which you are more familiar.

The Land

Southland is the southernmost region of New Zealand and straddles the 46th Parallel (46° South). Stewart Island lies at 47° South.

• Land area: 3,035,577 ha (12.0% of New Zealand land area)
• 60% of the land area is taken up with National Parks and Conservation Reserves
• 23% is intensively farmed
• the balance is steeper hill country used for extensive pastoral farming or for forestry.

Click here to see a map.

Agriculture, particularly pastoral sheep and dairy production, is the mainstay of the region's economy.

The Climate

Cool temperate climate with temperature regime similar to western parts of the UK; predominantly westerly winds. In the populated and intensively farmed parts of the region mean daily temperatures range from around 5ºC in July to14ºC in January. There can be around 80 days of ground frost in the winter months and 1000mm of rainfall fairly evenly spread throughout the year. Wind speed averages 15–20km/hr and there are about 1600 hours of sunshine annually. In the alpine areas and over in Fiordland the climate is more extreme.

Click here to see a climate summary table.

The People

• Population 90,000 (2.3% of the New Zealand population)
• Invercargill 50,000
• Southland District 28,000
• Gore District 12,000
• Below average population density (2.6 people per square kilometre compared with 15.0 people nationally)
• Median age of 38.2 years
• 11.8% identify with the Mäori ethnic group, compared to 14.6% nationally

Housing

• 60.2% of households own their dwellings, with or without a mortgage.
• 13.3% hold that dwelling in a family trust.
• Average dwelling price $150,000
• The average household size is 2.5 people.
• The average weekly rent paid by households renting permanent private dwellings is $135, compared with $224 for New Zealand as a whole.

Workforce

The Southland workforce is distributed as follows:

• 22.7% in the manufacturing industry
• 14.0% in the retail trade
• 11.2% in health and community services
• 7.5% in accommodation, café and restaurant industry
• 7.1% in property and business services
• 6.2% in construction

Tourism

Top tourist attractions include:

• Walking tracks, including Milford, Routeburn and Kepler
• Fiordland National Park
• Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound
• Mitre Peak
• Stewart Island / Rakiura National Park
• Lake Te Anau
• The Catlins

Local Government

• Southland Regional Council
• Southland District Council
• Gore District Council
• Invercargill City Council

Click here to see a map

Main Urban Centre

• Invercargill City

Some interesting facts

• The early Polynesians arrived in canoes about 1000 years ago from the Eastern Pacific. They named the southern region Murihiku, which means the whale’s tail– the important end, the rudder.
• The Southern Scenic Route is the first touring route in New Zealand
• Rakiura National park on Stewart Island is New Zealand’s newest National Park
• Riverton (Jacob’s River) – is one of the earliest European settlements in New Zealand
• Te Waewae Bay is home to New Zealand’s largest pod of Hector’s dolphins – the smallest marine dolphin in the world.
• Ancient podocarp forests exist in South Fiordland
• Curio Bay’s Petrified Forest is 180 million years old
• The Percy Burn Viaduct, near Tuatapere, is believed to be the largest wooden rail viaduct remaining in the world
• Lake Hauroko in Western Southland is the deepest lake in New Zealand
• The Southland Museum and Art Gallery’s Tuatarium is home to over 50 live tuatara – the only living species remaining from the dinosaur age – ranging from baby tuatara to tuatara over 100 years old
• The Hokonui Hills are famous for the legend of Hokonui Moonshine Whisky, which was distilled there illegally during the 1800s
• The Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track is New Zealand’s newest walking track
• Ulva Island is a predator-free open bird sanctuary for threatened wildlife.