Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand, descended from East Polynesian settlers who arrived between roughly 1320 and 1350, and they form a distinct culture with its own language and traditions.
The March 2023 New Zealand census reported 978,246 people of Māori descent, about 19.6 percent of the national population, and many identify with both Māori and European ancestries, reflecting high intermarriage rates.
Early Māori society developed over centuries in isolation and produced unique language, mythology, crafts and performing arts, with later changes driven by contact with Europeans, the introduction of new technologies and the upheavals of the 19th century.
Initial European contact brought trade and new tools, but also disease and conflict, culminating in the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, disputed land sales, the New Zealand wars of the 1860s and subsequent land confiscations that transformed Māori life and land ownership.
Impacts Policy and Cultural Revival
Demographic and social indicators show both recovery and enduring disparities. The Māori population fell to around 42,113 by the 1896 census before recovering in the 20th century, and the 2023 figures show renewed growth and urban dispersion.
Health and justice data highlight gaps, as reported by official sources. Life expectancy for Māori in 2017–2019 was 73.4 years for males and 77.1 years for females, compared with 80.9 and 84.4 years respectively for non‑Māori, according to national life tables.
Māori are overrepresented in custody, making up a majority of the prison population, as reported by the Department of Corrections, and they also experience higher rates of many illnesses and social problems across the country.
Policy and cultural responses have been active for decades. The Waitangi Tribunal, set up in 1975, investigates historical grievances, and treaty settlements have provided redress, with government settlement payments reported at over NZ$900 million by June 2008.
At the same time a cultural revival since the 1960s has strengthened language and arts. Kohanga reo immersion preschools began in 1982 and Māori Television launched in 2004, while efforts to revive te reo Māori continue through schools and media.
Political representation has evolved too, with reserved Māori electorates in Parliament, a growing number of Māori MPs and new institutional arrangements aiming to improve health and social outcomes for Māori communities.
