Forest Lakes is a rural locality in the Kāpiti Coast District of the

Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of , and has a population of T ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. It is located between Ōtaki and the northern boundary of Kāpiti Coast. Forest Lakes Road runs west from . The area contains Lake Waitawa, Ngatotara Lagoon, and several smaller lakes. Lake Kopureherehere is just north of the district border. Forest Lakes Station flourished in the area from the 1870s to the 1920s. The Forest Lakes Homestead is now part of a camping and conference centre.

Demographics

The statistical area of Forest Lakes covers , and also includes an area east of Ōtaki. It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Forest Lakes had a population of 663 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 39 people (6.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 72 people (12.2%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 255 households, comprising 315 males and 348 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.91 males per female. The median age was 52.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 99 people (14.9%) aged under 15 years, 96 (14.5%) aged 15 to 29, 306 (46.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 159 (24.0%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 90.0% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

, 16.3%

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 C ...

, 1.8% Pasifika, 3.2%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 1.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 15.4, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 55.2% had no religion, 33.0% were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 0.5% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.5% were

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and 1.4% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 138 (24.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 111 (19.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $30,000, compared with $31,800 nationally. 105 people (18.6%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 270 (47.9%) people were employed full-time, 90 (16.0%) were part-time, and 18 (3.2%) were unemployed.

References

{{Kapiti Coast District Populated places in the Wellington Region Kāpiti Coast District