Location of SMEs in New Zealand
Most SMEs are located
in the major centres.
The graphs below indicate where
SMEs are concentrated in
New Zealand. Most are found in regions with large urban centres including the Auckland,
Canterbury, Wellington and Waikato regions.
Figure 12: Number of Geographic Units
with 0-19 Employees by Regional Council Area, at February 2005
| Regional Council |
Number of Geographic Units |
| Northland |
11,379 |
| Auckland |
118,739 |
| Waikato |
29,495 |
| Bay of Plenty |
20,774 |
| Gisborne |
2,826 |
| Hawke's Bay |
10,847 |
| Taranaki |
7,306 |
| Manawatu-Wanganui |
14,934 |
| Wellington |
36,578 |
| West Coast |
2,218 |
| Canterbury |
39,506 |
| Otago |
15,303 |
| Southland |
6,863 |
| Tasman |
3,663 |
| Nelson |
4,121 |
| Marlborough |
3,973 |
The proportion of employment generated by
SMEs is greatest in the
Tasman, Northland and West Coast regions.
However, the regions where the highest proportion of employment is generated
by SMEs are Tasman (42.6
percent), Northland (38.0 percent) and West Coast (36.9 percent). In the larger
metropolitan areas of Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury, larger businesses employ
a greater proportion of the labour force.
Figure 13: Percentage of Total Employees
Employed by Enterprises with 0-19 Employees by Regional Council Area, at February
2005
| Regional Council |
Percentage of EC |
| Northland |
38.04% |
| Auckland |
27.74% |
| Waikato |
33.73% |
| Bay of Plenty |
36.16% |
| Gisborne |
35.55% |
| Hawke's Bay |
30.18% |
| Taranaki |
32.31% |
| Manawatu-Wanganui |
30.44% |
| Wellington |
24.82% |
| West Coast |
36.93% |
| Canterbury |
29.29% |
| Otago |
30.01% |
| Southland |
30.09% |
| Tasman |
42.57% |
| Nelson |
28.86% |
| Marlborough |
36.80% |
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