A growing foundation
The Māori economy asset base reached $126 billion in 2023.
An asset base is a stock of assets, not annual income or GDP.
MBIE & BERL · Te Ōhanga Māori 2023Data: 2023 · Last verified: 18 October 2026Te Moana / Ngā Tatauranga
Strength, with the source attached.
Figures update when official sources release new data. Many come from the five-yearly Census or multi-year reports.
These figures describe different things: assets, businesses, workers, language and population. They are evidence of Māori strength, and do not measure everyone’s health or erase the challenges whānau face.
Māori-owned businesses
Nearly 24,000 Māori-owned businesses in 2023, up from 19,200 in 2018.
Business ownership figures use the report’s definition and methodology.
MBIE & BERL · Te Ōhanga Māori 2023Data: 2018 and 2023 · Last verified: 18 October 2026Skills opening doors
46% of Māori workers were in high-skilled jobs in 2023, up from 37% in 2018.
This is a share of Māori workers, not the whole Māori population.
MBIE & BERL · Te Ōhanga Māori 2023Data: 2018 and 2023 · Last verified: 18 October 2026More voices speaking te reo
213,849 people could speak te reo Māori in 2023, up 15% from 185,955 in 2018.
All ethnicities. Census language measure: able to hold a conversation about everyday things. This is not a count of fluent speakers only.
Stats NZ · 2023 CensusData: 2018 and 2023 · Last verified: 18 October 2026A growing people
The Māori population grew 14% between 2018 and 2023, from about 775,800 to 887,500.
Rounded Census Māori ethnic-group population counts; not Māori descent or later population estimates.
MBIE & BERL · Te Ōhanga Māori 2023Data: 2018 and 2023 · Last verified: 18 October 2026