Te Karaka is a small settlement inland from Gisborne, in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island.

Te Karaka is located on State Highway 2, and is the largest settlement between Gisborne and Ōpōtiki in the Bay of Plenty.

[3] Te Karaka holds the current North Island weather high record, set on 3 February 2020, at 40 °C recorded at 4 pm that day.

[4] Statistics New Zealand describes Te Karaka as a rural settlement, which covers 2.92 km2 (1.13 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 570 as of June 2024,[2] with a population density of 195 people per km2.

The percentage of people born overseas was 4.9, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 46.5% had no religion, 30.7% were Christian, 14.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.2% were Buddhist and 0.8% had other religions.

[9][10] In October 2020, the Government committed $327,200 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the marae, creating an estimated 6 jobs.