Skip Navigation Links > Planning & Funding > About our District

Our district

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board has a population of 200,000 people and covers an area of nearly 10,000 square kilometres.

Three quarters live in the Western Bay of Plenty with nearly half living in the main urban area of Tauranga City. One quarter of the population live in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Approximately one-quarter of the population are Maori with about half of the nearly 50,000 Maori living in the Western Bay of Plenty and half in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Population Growth

The BOPDHB population is increasing at a faster rate than New Zealand as a whole and it is expected to increase to nearly 240000 by 2021 and nearly 260000 by 2031. This growth will be mostly in the Western Bay of Plenty, particularly in Tauranga City.

We expect growth in the Eastern Bay of Plenty among the older age groups but the overall population there is likely to be static over the next two decades and may even decrease.

What makes us different?

  • We have a higher than average proportion of people aged 65 years or more (16% compared with 12% for NZ).
  • Approximately 23% of the population are Maori compared with 14% for New Zealand as a whole.
  • Just under one quarter of the population (46000 people) live in rural areas and small settlements.
  • Over half the population in the Eastern Bay live in areas of high deprivation (52%) compared with about one in 6 in the Western (16%)
  • Nearly 50,000 people live in high deprivation areas - just under half (48%) live in the Western Bay and just over half (52%) live in the Eastern Bay.

Population Aging

The population of the BOPDHB is getting older in line with National trends.

By 2021, 21% of the BOPDHB population will be aged 65 years or more compared with 16% in 2006 and 19% will be under 15 years compared with and 23% in 2006.

The most rapid population growth rate is among the oldest age groups. For example the BOPDHB population aged 85 years or more increased by 6.7% per annum between 2001 and 2006 compared with a growth rate of less than 2% per annum for the overall population.

Key health issues

The Bay of Plenty regularly carries out a Health Needs Assessment to build a picture of the key health issues facing our communities. Our data shows that:

  • Key health problems include heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, diabetes and injury and many of these conditions are preventable.
  • The increasing number of older people with multiple health conditions places more demands on our health services
  • Life expectancy is nearly five years lower in the Eastern Bay of Plenty compared with the Western Bay of Plenty.
  • There are significant mental health and disability support service needs within the district

Compared to the rest of the country, Bay of Plenty has higher rates of:

  • Smoking;
  • Obesity;
  • High blood pressure;
  • Suicide deaths;
  • Melanoma skin cancer;
  • Lung cancer and breast cancer;
  • Poor oral health;
  • Burns and falls in children less than 5 years old;
  • Rheumatic fever;
  • Avoidable hospitalisation.

Compared with non-Maori, Maori health status in the Bay of Plenty is worse for:

  • Cardiovascular disease;
  • Cancer;
  • Diabetes and kidney disease;
  • Lung disease;
  • Pregnancy complications;
  • Conditions around the time of birth;
  • Infectious diseases; and
  • Mental health.