Eketāhuna is a small rural settlement, in the south of the Tararua District and the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island.

The town is located at eastern foot of the Tararua Ranges, 35 kilometres north of Masterton and a similar distance south of Palmerston North. It is situated on State Highway 2, on the eastern bank of the Mākākahi River.^[3]

Eketāhuna has become synonymous with stereotypes of remote rural New Zealand towns, with New Zealanders colloquially referring to the town in the same way other English speakers refer to Timbuktu.^[4]

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "land on the sandbank" for Eketāhuna.^[5] The name sounds like the Afrikaans sentence "I have a chicken" (Afrikaans: Ek het 'n hoender), making it amusing to immigrant Afrikaans-speaking South Africans in New Zealand.^[6]

The corresponding Statistics New Zealand statistical area covers an area of 892.66 km².^[7]

The Pukaha / Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre is located to the south of the town.^[6]

Eketāhuna is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, which covers 4.18 km² (1.61 sq mi)^[1] and had an estimated population of 540 as of June 2023,^[2] with a population density of 129 people per km². It is part of the wider Nireaha-Eketahuna statistical area.

Eketāhuna had a population of 504 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 60 people (13.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 48 people (10.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 222 households, comprising 255 males and 249 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female, with 81 people (16.1%) aged under 15 years, 87 (17.3%) aged 15 to 29, 234 (46.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 102 (20.2%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 85.1% European/Pākehā, 31.5% Māori, 2.4% Pasifika, 1.8% Asian, and 1.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 52.4% had no religion, 30.4% were Christian, 1.8% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.2% were Hindu and 3.6% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 33 (7.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 126 (29.8%) people had no formal qualifications. 21 people (5.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 156 (36.9%) people were employed full-time, 69 (16.3%) were part-time, and 36 (8.5%) were unemployed.^[12]

In 2018, 5.0% of the workforce worked in manufacturing, 6.1% worked in construction, 5.0% worked in hospitality, 1.4% worked in transport, 3.9% worked in education, and 6.4% worked in healthcare.^[9]

As of 2018, among those who commute to work, 46.4% drove a car, 3.2% rode in a car and 2.9% walked or jogged. No one commuted by public transport or cycled.^[9]

Eketāhuna School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,^[15][16] with a roll of 95 as of February 2024.^[17]

• Ellen Anderson (1882–1978), district nurse in Eketāhuna
• Tania Lineham, born 1966 in Eketāhuna. Royal Society of New Zealand, Science and Technology Teacher Fellowship in 1999 and the Prime Minister's Science Teacher Prize in 2015.

• List of towns in New Zealand
• Regions of New Zealand