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 2023, 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 almost 60,000 people, with 46,045 students and 13,138 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.

Two stylised fingerprints made up of dashed lines in different colours, representing the gender demographic composition of the student and staff groups, and a key with the specific percentages below. Tauira, Students: Female 57%, Male 42%, Another gender or did not say 1%. Kaimahi, Staff: Female 60%, Male 39%, 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.

Two concentric circles made up of dots in different colours, representing the ethnic demographic composition of the student and staff groups, and a key with the specific percentages below. Tauira, Students: Asian 47%; Māori 7%; Middle Eastern, Latin American and African 4%; Pacific 9%; Pākehā/European 32%; Other or did not say 1%. Kaimahi, Staff: Asian 31%; Māori 8%; Middle Eastern, Latin American and African 5%; Pacific 7%; Pākehā/European 45%; Other or did not say 3%.
Two concentric circles made up of dots in different colours, representing the ethnic demographic composition of the student and staff groups, and a key with the specific percentages below. Tauira, Students: Asian 49%; Māori 7%; Middle Eastern, Latin American and African 4%; Pacific 8%; Pākehā/European 31%; Other or did not say 1%. Kaimahi, Staff: Asian 34%; Māori 8%; Middle Eastern, Latin American and African 5%; Pacific 7%; Pākehā/European 44%; Other or did not say 2%.

Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland Community

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

Two stylised trees with different sized circles to indicate leaves to show student and staff groups. The circles are colour coded to represent the community demographic composition, and each has a key with the specific percentages below. Tauira, Students: Disabled 9%, LGBTQIATakatāpuiMVPFAFF 9%, Refugee background 2%, Constrained economic background 34%. Kaimahi, Staff: Disabled 7%, LGBTQIATakatāpuiMVPFAFF 9%, Refugee background 1%.

Notes on the data

  1. Data are accurate as of July 2024.
  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:
    • Takatāpui being a term embracing all Māori with diverse genders, sexualities and sex characteristics.
    • 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).

More information on our demographic composition

Related Links