University demographic data

Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland is a community of communities, where students and staff from all walks of life learn and work together. Here you can find some information about who we are.

Ethnicity and gender have many dimensions, and here we provide a broad overview of student and staff communities. These communities include people who experience disability, belong to the LGBTQIATakatāpuiMVPFAFF community, have a refugee background, or a constrained economic background. In 2021, around a third of students identified with at least one of these groups.

There are many other ways in which we form communities, around language, faith, nationality, parenting, and many more. We’re committed to being a safe, inclusive, and equitable place for people to study and work with diverse friends and colleagues. This enriched environment fosters broad thinking, different perspectives, creativity, and a variety of talents.

Waipapa Taumata Rau is a community of 58,495 people, with 46,048 students and 12,447 staff. The images below show the composition of these groups according to some key characteristics.

Gender

Around 60% of people at Waipapa Taumata Rau are female.

Tauira, Students: Female 58%, Male 41%, Another gender or did not say 1%. Kaimahi, Staff: Female 59%, Male 40%, Another gender or did not say 1%

Ethnicity

The two largest groups are Asian and Pākehā/European, accounting for around 40% each of the Waipapa Taumata Rau community.

Tauira, Students: Asian 46%; Māori 7%; Middle Eastern, Latin American and African 4%; Pacific 9%; Pākehā/European 33%; Other or did not say 1%. Kaimahi, Staff: Asian 31%; Māori 8%; Middle Eastern, Latin American and African 5%; Pacific 6%; Pākehā/47%; Other or did not say 3%.

Waipapa Taumata Rau communities

Our communities include people who experience disability, belong to the LGBTQIATakatāpuiMVPFAFF community, have a refugee background, or a constrained economic background. The information below is indicative, as many people identify with more than one of these groups.

Tauira, Students: Disabled 7%, LGBTQIATakatāpuiMVPFAFF 8%, Refugee background 2%, Constrained economic background 31%. Kaimahi, Staff: Disabled 5%, LGBTQIATakatāpuiMVPFAFF 7%, Refugee background 1%

Notes on the data

  1. Data are accurate as of 25 May 2022.
  2. Some people may be counted twice in the total for the University if they are both enrolled as students and employed as staff.
  3. Some people identify as belonging to more than one community.
  4. The acronym LGBTQIATakatāpuiMVPFAFF stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual – with:
    1. Takatāpui being a term embracing all Māori with diverse genders, sexualities and sex characteristics.
    2. MVPFAFF embracing Pacific identities - Mahu (Hawai’i and Tahiti), Vaka sa lewa (Fiji), Palopa (Papua New Guinea) Fa’afafine (Samoa) Akava’ine (Rarotonga), Fakaleiti (Tonga), Fakafifine (Niue).
  5. The acronym MELAA stands for Middle Eastern, Latin American and African.

More information on our demographic composition