Āpiti is a small township in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the northeast of the small town of Kimbolton in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. It is located on a small plain, the Āpiti Flats, close to the valley and gorge of the Oroua River, near Rangiwahia and close to the foot of the Ruahine Range.Thomas, C., "Welcome to town: Apiti, where's that?," Manawatū Standard 8 September 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
Āpiti was settled in 1886. Although its industry has historically always been pastoral farming, it is now also known by tourists and trampers as a gateway to the Ruahine Range."Apiti", nzhistory.net. Retrieved 11 January 2020. In the 1890s it gained a school, a hall and a dairy factory. When a road was built and a bridge across the Oroua River in 1896, the town developed with several shops and services. A post office opened in 1889 and closed from 5 February 1988 when Postmaster-General, Richard Prebble, closed or reduced 580 offices.
In July 2020, the name of the locality was officially gazetted as Āpiti by the New Zealand Geographic Board.
Demographics Āpiti locality covers . It is part of the larger Pohangina-Apiti statistical area.
Āpiti had a population of 192 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 36 people (−15.8%) since the 2018 census, and a decrease of 6 people (−3.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 99 males and 99 females in 75 dwellings. 1.6% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. There were 42 people (21.9%) aged under 15 years, 27 (14.1%) aged 15 to 29, 96 (50.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 27 (14.1%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 98.4% European (Pākehā), 10.9% Māori, and 6.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 100.0%, Māori by 1.6%, and other languages by 3.1%. The percentage of people born overseas was 9.4, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 12.5% Christian, and 3.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 81.2%, and 6.2% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 15 (10.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 99 (66.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 39 (26.0%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. 12 people (8.0%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 84 (56.0%) full-time, 21 (14.0%) part-time, and 9 (6.0%) unemployed.
Education Āpiti School is a co-educational state primary school, with a roll of as of The school opened about 1892. Apiti District High School opened about 1937 and had new buildings and a swimming pool added in 1941. The high school continued into the 1950s.
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