Whakaki is a settlement east of Wairoa within the Wairoa District and Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. State Highway 2 runs through it.

Whakakī Lake, southwest of the settlement, is the largest freshwater lagoon on the east coast of the North Island.^[1][2]

Whakakī is a Māori word meaning "to fill".^[3]

Whakaki's statistical area covers 183.47 km² (70.84 sq mi)^[4] and had an estimated population of 740 as of June 2023,^[5] with a population density of 4.0 people per km².

Whakaki had a population of 675 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 3 people (0.4%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 51 people (−7.0%) since the 2006 census. There were 255 households, comprising 354 males and 321 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.1 males per female. The median age was 44.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 135 people (20.0%) aged under 15 years, 102 (15.1%) aged 15 to 29, 315 (46.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 117 (17.3%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 41.3% European/Pākehā, 71.6% Māori, 0.4% Pacific peoples, 1.3% Asian, and 0.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 4.4, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 31.1% had no religion, 43.6% were Christian, 16.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% were Muslim, and 0.4% were Buddhist.

Of those residents that were at least 15 years old, 54 (10.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 150 (27.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $24,000, compared with $31,800 nationally. 48 people (8.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 240 (44.4%) people were employed full-time, 78 (14.4%) were part-time, and 39 (7.2%) were unemployed.^[6]

Whakakī is a marae (meeting place) and wharenui (meeting house) for the Ngāi Te Ipu hapu (subtribe) of Ngāti Kahungunu iwi.(tribe).^[7]

Whakaki Native School was established in 1912. It was damaged in the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake^[8] and (as Whakaki Maori School) celebrated its golden jubilee in 1962.^[9][10] but no longer exists.