Matamata-Piako District has a larger proportion of those of European/New Zealand/Other ethnicity than either the Waikato Region or Total New Zealand, and a smaller proportion of both Maori and Pacific Island than the Waikato. Matamata-Piako also has substantially fewer people of Asian origin. In all cases, the number in each ethnic group has grown except for European/NZ/other. This group saw a small decline in its number in the 1996-2006 period, while Maori grew by 8 per cent, accounting for approximately 34 per cent of Matamata-Piako District’s growth, compared with 16 per cent of the Waikato’s.