State of the Industry 2026: How Many Martial Arts Schools Are There in New Zealand?
New Zealand has about 450 physical martial arts schools, BJJ academies and MMA gyms, half of them in Auckland. Per person, it is the least saturated of the five countries in our State of the Industry series. This report shows where the number comes from and breaks it down by region and by style.
Part of Martial Arts Professional’s State of the Industry 2026, which also covers the United States and the other countries in this series.
The short answer
- About 450 physical locations (range: 300 to 600).
- 283 to 435 “Martial arts school” listings, plus 227 “Martial arts clubs.”
- Auckland holds half of all listings (141 of 283).
- 5.4 schools per 100,000 people, the lowest of the five countries.
- Six regions show no listed school at all.
How many martial arts schools are there in New Zealand?
About 450 physical locations, within a wide range of 300 to 600. The two listing providers disagree more here than anywhere else: 283 and 435 “Martial arts school” listings. PoiData also lists 227 “Martial arts clubs.”
| Source | What it counts | Figure | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| SmartScraper | “Martial arts school” listings | 283 | Apr 1, 2026 |
| PoiData | “Martial arts school” listings | 435 | Aug 2025 |
| PoiData | “Martial arts club” listings | 227 | Aug 2025 |
| Stats NZ via Figure.NZ | Regional population | 5.2 million | Jun 30, 2023 |
How we counted
No government or industry body publishes a count of martial arts schools as physical places, so we compared two independent business-listing providers. SmartScraper counts Google business listings by category (data as of April 1, 2026). PoiData counts verified business listings (data as of August 2025). We used the higher “Martial arts school” count as the base, then allowed for “Martial arts club” and style-category listings, many of which are the same schools listed twice. Listings also include some closed schools and classes held inside other facilities, and miss programs with no online listing. The U.S. report used the same method.
Which regions have the most martial arts schools?
Auckland holds half of all listings. Outside Auckland, Canterbury, Wellington and the Bay of Plenty have meaningful numbers; most other regions show few or none.
| Region | “Martial arts school” listings | Per 100,000 residents |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland | 141 | 8.0 |
| Canterbury | 44 | 6.5 |
| Wellington | 37 | 6.9 |
| Bay of Plenty | 23 | 6.6 |
| Waikato | 18 | 3.5 |
| Otago | 13 | 5.2 |
| Manawatū-Whanganui | 4 | 1.6 |
| Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough, Northland | 1 each | under 2 |
| Taranaki, Southland, Gisborne, Nelson, Tasman, West Coast | 0 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 283 | 5.4 |
Sources: SmartScraper, April 1, 2026; Stats NZ regional population estimates, June 30, 2023 (the latest full regional table available to us).
The thin counts outside the main cities may reflect club-based programs that list as clubs, or not at all, rather than an absence of martial arts.
Which martial arts styles have the most schools in New Zealand?
| Style category | Listings (PoiData, Aug 2025) |
|---|---|
| Karate school | 67 |
| Jujitsu school | 54 |
| Kickboxing school | 51 |
No taekwondo, judo, Muay Thai, BJJ or MMA counts were published for New Zealand.
How does New Zealand compare?
On the same listing source, New Zealand has 5.4 “Martial arts school” listings per 100,000 people, the lowest of the five countries in this series (U.S. and Canada 7.6, England 10.7, Australia 11.6). On PoiData’s higher count the rate is 8.4. At about 450 locations, there is one school for roughly every 11,500 New Zealanders.
What a New Zealand school owner should take from this
- Outside the main cities, listed competition is thin. Several regions show no listed martial arts school at all.
- Get listed. With so few schools showing up in search, a complete, accurate business listing is a real advantage.
- Auckland is the competitive market, with half of all listings.
Frequently asked questions
How many martial arts schools are there in New Zealand?
About 450 physical locations, within a range of 300 to 600. Business listings show 283 to 435 martial arts schools depending on the provider, plus 227 martial arts clubs.
Which region of New Zealand has the most martial arts schools?
Auckland, with 141 of 283 listings, or about half. Canterbury (44) and Wellington (37) follow.
How many martial arts schools are there per person in New Zealand?
About 5.4 per 100,000 people on Google business listings, the lowest rate of the five countries in Martial Arts Professional’s State of the Industry series.
Which martial arts styles are most common in New Zealand?
Among published style counts, karate leads with 67 listings, followed by jujitsu (54) and kickboxing (51), according to PoiData’s August 2025 counts.
Sources, and what we could not confirm
Listings: SmartScraper (Rentech Digital) “Martial arts school” report for New Zealand, April 1, 2026; PoiData New Zealand reports for martial arts schools, martial arts clubs, karate, jujitsu and kickboxing, August 2025. Population: Stats NZ regional estimates, June 30, 2023, via Figure.NZ. We found no published business count for martial arts in New Zealand.
Not established: why the two providers differ by 54% (283 against 435); how many schools appear under more than one category; national BJJ, MMA, taekwondo or Muay Thai counts. The providers do not publish their methods or deduplication. The Martial Arts Wealth Mastery contact list was too small outside the U.S. to support a style breakdown.
Related reading
- State of the Industry 2026: the hub, with all five countries compared
- How many martial arts schools are there in the United States?
- How many martial arts schools are there in Canada?
- How many martial arts schools are there in Australia?
- How many martial arts schools are there in the United Kingdom?
About the author
Grand Master Stephen Oliver, MBA, is a 10th Degree Black Belt and the Founder and CEO of Mile High Karate and Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, one of the martial arts industry’s leading coaching and consulting organizations for professional martial arts school owners, BJJ academies, and MMA gyms. A martial arts school owner since 1975 and business coach since 1985, Oliver has spent more than five decades building, operating, and advising successful martial arts schools. He also serves as CEO and Chairman of NAPMA (the National Association of Professional Martial Artists) and Publisher of Martial Arts Professional magazine. A Georgetown University cum laude graduate, he earned his Executive MBA through the Executive Program at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. He was promoted to 10th Degree Black Belt in April 2026 and inducted into the Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame in August 2026. Learn more at MartialArtsWealth.com and StephenCOliver.com.
