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Wellington City Council Wellington City Council
News | 19 December 2023
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Wellington – by the numbers!

There is so much to love about our wonderful city. Let’s celebrate all Pōneke has to offer by looking at some facts and figures.

Group of people sunbathing at Oriental Bay.
  • 2,090 – sunshine hours in 2022
  • 212,849 – Wellington city population
  • 172million L – the average amount of water used by the greater Wellington region per day
Person on a bike cycling around Point Jerningham on a shared pathway.
Point Jerningham shared pathway.
  • 36km – of bike network to explore so far
  • 163km/h – top recent wind gust, recorded at Mt Kaukau
  • 170,862 – calls handled by our Contact Centre last financial year
  • 55,785 – queries received by our social media team in 2022
Light projections on a large building with a crowd standing infront.
Ahi Kā projections for Matariki on Te Papa.
  • 450,000 – people attended Council-run or Council-supported events last year
  • 798 – places to eat
People walking along a pathway overlooking water.
Oruaiti Reserve, Seatoun.
  • 4,317ha – of open green space
  • 110,000 – native plants planted with the community in past year
  • 1.3million – visitors to Botanic Garden ki Paekākā and Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush annually
Group of people swimming in the ocean.
Island Bay beach.
  • 98.9km – of coastline
  • 160+ – community & environment groups
A plant nursery lit up in the sun.
Berhampore Nursery.
  • 90,000 – native plants grown annually by Berhampore Nursery
  • 59,000 – volunteer hours spent across our parks and open spaces in 2022
People swimming in a pool with lanes.
  • 44 – rescues performed by our lifeguards in 2022
  • 107 – play areas
  • 86 – public toilets
The front of a library with 'Te Awe Library' written in white letters.
Te Awe Library.
  • 1.6million – visitors to our libraries each year
  • 10% – reduction in city emissions in past three years
A close up of a person planting a seedling.
  • $259k – Climate & Sustainability Fund fully allocated
  • 89% – Council passenger vehicles now EVs or hybrids
  • 62% – landfill emissions reduced through better methane capture
View of the gardens at the Wellington Botanic Garden ki paekākā.
Wellington Botanic Garden ki Paekākā.
  • 64% – reduction in energy use at Wellington Botanic Garden ki Paekākā
  • 28,000kg – of reusable items saved from landfill by the Tip Shop team per year

Read more

Man wearing a green tshirt standing in native bush.

5 December 2023

Not all heroes wear capes – some wear gardening gloves

Local legend Campbell Maclean has been hard at work for four decades, planting over 2,500 native plants in the Town Belt section behind his home.
Three girls standing on equipment at a playground.

24 August 2023

Challenge accepted: Young trio visit all 107 Pōneke playgrounds

A young trio of students took on the ultimate challenge of visiting 107 playgrounds and play areas across Wellington.
Wellington artist Hannah Webster holding the Our Wellington magazine and the original painting she did of Thorndon Pool for the cover. Her cat is asleep beside her on the desk.

4 December 2023

Our Wellington this summer: A tribute to Thorndon Pool

The Thorndon Pool sums up summer for artist Hannah Webster. That’s why she chose to paint it for the cover of our latest quarterly magazine.