ATLAS · UNIVERSITIES · NEW ZEALAND

Universities in New Zealand

New Zealand has 24 universities on the map. The oldest dates to 1850. Most were founded in the modern era. Below: how they spread across the centuries, and the country’s oldest institutions. From Wikidata, snapshot 2026-06-22.

UNIVERSITIES24

OLDEST1850

FOUNDED 1900+17

By founding era

Before 12000 · 0%

1200–15990 · 0%

1600–18997 · 29%

1900 or later17 · 71%

Date unknown0 · 0%

Oldest universities in New Zealand

The country’s earliest institutions — the deepest roots of higher education here.

1850St Mary's Seminary

1869University of Otago

1870Otago Polytechnic

1873University of Canterbury

1878Lincoln University

1883University of Auckland

1897Victoria University of Wellington

1901Holy Cross College

1904Wellington Institute of Technology

1906Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology

1906Ara Institute of Canterbury

1907Universal College of Learning

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