Statistics New Zealand defines New Zealand urban areas for statistical purposes. The urban areas comprise cities, towns and other 'conurbations' (an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities) of a thousand people or more. In combination, the urban areas of the country constitute New Zealand's urban population. At the 2001 census, the urban population made up 86% of New Zealand's total population.

There are three classes of urban area:

• Main urban areas, with a population of 30,000 or more. These 16 areas mostly correspond to the places known by New Zealanders as cities.
• Secondary urban areas are the 14 urban areas with a population of 10,000 to 30,000.
• Minor urban areas make up the remainder of the urban population of the country, towns with 1,000 to 10,000 people.

Statistics New Zealand also defines rural centres with a population of 300 to 999 people. While these do not fit the standard international definition of an urban population, they serve to distinguish between true rural dwellers and those in rural settlements or towns.