Fordlands is a western suburb of

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

in the

Bay of Plenty Region The Bay of Plenty Region is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region in the North Island of New Zealand. Also called just the Bay of Plenty (BOP), it is situated around the Bay of Plenty, marine bight of that same name. The bay was name ...

of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. The area is named for Harry Ford, whose model dairy farm became the suburb. It was described in 2017 as the most deprived suburb in New Zealand. The suburb was an inspiration for the novel ''

Once Were Warriors ''Once Were Warriors'' is New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling first novel, published in 1990. It tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and portrays the reality of domestic violence in New Zealand. It was the basis of a 1 ...

'' by

Alan Duff Alan Duff (born 26 October 1950) is a New Zealand novelist and newspaper columnist. He is best known as the author of the novel '' Once Were Warriors'' (1990), which was made into a film of the same name in 1994. Biography Alan Duff was bo ...

Demographics

Fordlands covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Fordlands had a population of 2,667 in the

2023 New Zealand census The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...

, an increase of 207 people (8.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 549 people (25.9%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,287 males, 1,362 females, and 18 people of other genders in 750 dwellings. 2.7% of people identified as

LGBTIQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...

. The median age was 29.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 711 people (26.7%) aged under 15 years, 639 (24.0%) aged 15 to 29, 1,062 (39.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 255 (9.6%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 32.8%

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

(

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

); 70.3%

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

; 15.0% Pasifika; 6.4% Asian; 0.2% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 94.9%, Māori by 23.7%, Samoan by 1.8%, and other languages by 6.4%. No language could be spoken by 2.7% (e.g. too young to talk).

New Zealand Sign Language New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...

was known by 0.7%. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.9, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 31.7%

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 0.6%

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 0.4%

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, 7.2%

Māori religious beliefs Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, 0.6%

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, 0.7%

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

, and 0.8% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 52.1%, and 7.2% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 156 (8.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 1,080 (55.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 723 (37.0%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $30,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 33 people (1.7%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 795 (40.6%) full-time, 198 (10.1%) part-time, and 183 (9.4%) unemployed.

References

{{Rotorua District Suburbs of Rotorua Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region