Manawatū District is a territorial authority district in the Manawatū-Whanganui local government region in the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Manawatū District Council. It includes most of the area between the Manawatū River in the south and the Rangitīkei River in the north, stretching from slightly south of the settlement of Himatangi in the south, to just south of Mangaweka in the north, and from the Rangitīkei River to the top of the Ruahine Range in the east. It does not include the Foxton area and the mouth of the Manawatū River, or Palmerston North City. Its main town is Feilding. The district has an area of 2,624 km².

The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of 113,729 km2 (43,911 sq mi), it is the world's 14th-largest island, constituting 43% of New Zealand's land area. It has a population of 3,997,300, which is 77% of New Zealand's residents, making it the most populous island in Polynesia and the 28th-most-populous island in the world.