Pokemon per person peaks in Dunedin: Statistics NZ

I'm not 110% sure this is the best use of the taxpayer's dollar, but the following has just arrived from Statistics NZ:

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Population estimates of active Pokémon found in our six largest centres:

Auckland – 2,100
Hamilton – 200
Tauranga – 150
Wellington – 300
Christchurch – 500
Dunedin – 200.

New Zealand’s Pokémon population is currently in excess of 446,000 a day, according to Statistics New Zealand. Around 6,200 Pokémon are active across the country at any given moment.

Dunedin tops our Pokémon per person scale, with around 15 Pokémon per 10,000 people.

“While Statistics NZ does not collect population information on Pokémon types, we believe this peak may be due to Dunedin’s varied terrain attracting a wide range of Pokémon types,” Pokémon statistical analyst, Bridget Snodgrass said.

“Within Dunedin is Otago Harbour for Water Type Pokémon, Otago Peninsula for Rock Type Pokémon, and Larnach Castle for Ghost Type Pokémon, not to mention the cooler winter temperatures attracting Ice Type Pokémon.”

Pokémon GO for iPhone and Android was released in July 2016. An ‘augmented reality’ game, it sees gamers interact with real-life locations to find and catch Pokémon. Around 9.5 million players across the world use the game each day.

While Dunedin has the highest Pokémon number per person, Auckland Central East area and Lambton Quay in Wellington are the country’s hot spots for Pokémon catching during daytime hours, with 41 and 40 Pokémon per square kilometre, respectively.

For night-time hunters, Auckland Central East and the Willis Street to Cambridge Terrace area in Wellington are the best spots – with 18 and 12 Pokémon per square kilometre, respectively.

The South Island hot spot is Riccarton South in Christchurch during the daytime – with 10 Pokémon per square kilometre. At night, it’s Riccarton West – with nine Pokémon per square kilometre.

“The Pokémon population maps show that the Pokémon population correlates with our human population across New Zealand,” Ms Snodgrass said. “Each of our three major centres – Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch – have several hundred active Pokémon at any one time.”