// CITY_ASSESSMENT

How smart is Wellington?

Wellington scores 33.9% against the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #138 of 213 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.

Smart score

33.9%

Rank

#138 / 213

Criteria present

14 / 86

Evidence coverage

52.3%

Wellington's smart city score by area

Data, Digital & Smart Foundation50%

0 present · 7 partial · 0 absent · 8 not assessed

Mobility & Transport25%

1 present · 2 partial · 5 absent · 4 not assessed

Environment, Energy & Climate67%

3 present · 2 partial · 1 absent · 7 not assessed

Infrastructure, Water & Waste50%

1 present · 7 partial · 1 absent · 2 not assessed

Health, Education, Safety & Inclusion72%

5 present · 3 partial · 1 absent · 4 not assessed

Economy, Innovation & Employment60%

1 present · 4 partial · 0 absent · 3 not assessed

Governance, Resilience & Operating Model60%

3 present · 6 partial · 1 absent · 4 not assessed

Where Wellington is strong

  • Culture, Tourism & Recreation
  • Climate Action & Emissions
  • Health & Digital Health
  • Inclusion & Civic Participation
  • Critical Infrastructure Resilience

Where the gaps are

  • Open Data & Transparency
  • Connectivity & ICT Infrastructure
  • Innovation & Economic Development
  • Urban Data Platform & Digital Twin
  • Climate Adaptation & Heat

Evidence highlights

Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Public transport network

Greater Wellington manages and funds all public transport, with Metlink operating Wellington's public transport system to help people move around the region.

https://www.gw.govt.nz/transport/

Climate Action & Emissions · Greenhouse-gas inventory

Wellington's regional greenhouse gas emissions have been measured and reported using the Global Protocol methodology for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, with a dataset going back to 2000/01, and the "Greater Wellington Region GHG Emissio…

https://www.gw.govt.nz/environment/climate-change/regional-emissions-monitoring/

Climate Action & Emissions · Emissions monitoring / reporting

Regional greenhouse gas emissions for Wellington have been measured and reported since 2000/01, with updates such as the "Greater Wellington Region GHG Emissions Inventory 2024" published, showing a decrease in total gross emissions over time.

https://www.gw.govt.nz/environment/climate-change/regional-emissions-monitoring/

Education & Digital Skills · Education provision data

Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, reported a student headcount of over 20,605 in 2024, with nearly 15,875 equivalent full-time students, and over 22,000 students including 4,000 international learners in 2025.

https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/

About this assessment

Wellington was assessed against the 86 criteria of the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework on 2026-07-06 by AI agents gathering evidence from official public sources. Each criterion is marked present, partial or absent, and every finding links to where it was found — see how smart cities are measured. Scores refresh continuously as cities publish new evidence.