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Whanganui District

This section provides people and indicator data for WhanganuiDistrict.

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People data for Whanganui District

Ethnicity by age, proportion in the area and sex: Census 2006, Estimated population change, births, deaths and natural increase from 1996, Projected population change, Household composition
Indicator data for Whanganui District

Health: Life expectancy, Cigarette smoking

Knowledge and Skills: Participation in early childhood education, School leavers with higher qualifications, Educational attainment of the adult population

Paid Work: Workplace injury claims

Economic Standard of Living: Population with low incomes, Household crowding

Civil and Political Rights: Voter turnout - local authority elections, Representation of women in local government

Cultural Identity: Māori language speakers, Language retention

Physical Environment: Drinking water quality

Safety: Road casualties

Social Connectedness: Telephone and internet access in the home

People data for Whanganui District

Ethnicity by age, proportion in the area and sex: Census 2006

Ethnicity European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Age Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
0 - 14 6,927 20.1 3,276 36.1 402 40.7 267 27.2 33 31.4 9,231 21.6
15 - 24 3,912 11.4 1,536 16.9 168 17.0 189 19.3 15 14.3 5,199 12.2
25 - 44 7,773 22.6 2,376 26.2 231 23.4 315 32.1 36 34.3 10,179 23.9
45 - 64 9,021 26.2 1,461 16.1 147 14.9 159 16.2 21 20.0 10,674 25.0
65 - 74 3,363 9.8 300 3.3 30 3.0 36 3.7 3 2.9 3,750 8.8
75+ 3,411 9.9 126 1.4 12 1.2 18 1.8 6 5.7 3,606 8.5
Total 34,413 100.0 9,078 100.0 987 100.0 981 100.0 105 100.0 42,639 100.0
Ethnic % in the area 83.5 22.0 2.4 2.4 0.3 110.5
Sex
Male 16,404 47.7 4,407 48.5 528 53.5 465 47.4 54 51.4 20,481 48.0
Female 18,006 52.3 4,671 51.5 459 46.5 516 52.6 51 48.6 22,158 52.0
    100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0

Estimated population change, births, deaths and natural increase from 1996

Year Estimated resident
population at June 		Population change Registered births
December year		 Registered deaths
December year		 Natural increase
December year
Number %
1996 46,000  -  - 693 490 203
1997 46,000 0 0.0 665 436 229
1998 45,700 -300 -0.7 625 438 187
1999 45,300 -400 -0.9 611 461 150
2000 45,100 -200 -0.4 637 462 175
2001 44,400 -700 -1.6 581 463 118
2002 44,300 -100 -0.2 558 465 93
2003 44,100 -200 -0.5 554 457 97
2004 43,900 -200 -0.5 538 418 120
2005 43,800 -100 -0.2 562 450 112
2006 43,800 0 0.0 595 454 141
2007 43,600 -200 -0.5 589 437 152
2008 43,400 -200 -0.5 605 462 143

Projected population change

Variant Population at 30 June Change 2006 - 2031
2006 2011 2016 2021 2026 2031 Number %
High   44,400 44,800 45,100 45,200 45,000 1,300 3.0
Medium 43,800 43,400 43,000 42,400 41,600 40,400 -3,300 -8.0
Low   42,500 41,200 39,700 38,000 36,000 -7,800 -18.0

Household composition

Household composition 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Couples with children 5,448 35.9 5,016 31.1 4,605 28.4 3,960 24.4 3,888 23.4
Couples without children 3,777 24.9 4,017 24.9 4,164 25.7 4,209 25.9 4,452 26.8
Multi-family 177 1.2 219 1.4 288 1.8 234 1.4 300 1.8
One parent family 1,719 11.3 2,319 14.4 2,313 14.3 2,493 15.4 2,400 14.4
One person 3,336 22.0 3,834 23.8 4,149 25.6 4,659 28.7 4,887 29.4
Other multi-person 735 4.8 726 4.5 699 4.3 672 4.1 711 4.3
Total 15,195 100.0 16,134 100.0 16,218 100.0 16,227 100.0 16,638 100.0
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Indicator data for Whanganui District

Health

Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth indicates the total number of years a person could expect to live, based on the mortality rates of the population at each age in a given year or period.

  1995 - 1997 2000 - 2002 2005 - 2007
Male Female Male Female Male Female
Life expectancy at birth (years) 72.5 78.4 74.3 78.5 75.0 80.9

Cigarette smoking

The proportion (%) of the population in the area aged 15 years and over who currently smoke cigarettes.

The age-standardised prevalence (%) of cigarette smoking by sex
Year Male Female Total
Number % Number % Number %
1981 5,397 37.2 4,767 32.0 10,152 34.4
1996 4,026 29.1 4,323 28.4 8,355 28.8
2006 3,714 29.7 4,035 29.3 7,755 29.5
The age-specific prevalence (%) of cigarette smoking (not age-standardised)
Year 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+
Number % Number % Number % Number %
1981 2,682 36.2 3,708 37.3 2,781 34.5 981 18.0
1996 1,695 31.0 3,873 33.8 2,058 24.9 729 11.7
2006 1,530 32.8 3,231 35.1 2,364 24.1 630 9.5
The age-standardised prevalence (%) of cigarette smoking by ethnicity 2006
Sex European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Male 2,493 27.7 1,005 41.4 96 32.8 63 19.9 405 25.5 3,714 29.7
Female 2,697 26.2 1,476 50.3 69 28.2 33 8.4 336 23.5 4,035 29.3
Total 5,184 26.8 2,484 46.4 168 30.9 102 15.8 729 24.0 7,755 29.5
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Knowledge and Skills

Participation in early childhood education

The number of 3 and 4 year olds enrolled in early childhood education centres or home-based education programmes as a proportion of all 3 and 4 year olds, and the number and proportion of Year 1 students who indicated they have attended some form of early childhood education.

"Apparent" participation rate, 3 and 4 year olds (numbers can add to more than 100%)
Year Participation rate % Number enrolled
3 year 4 year Total 3 year 4 year Total
2001 90 101 95 605 614 1,219
2002 90 96 94 520 643 1,163
2003 99 97 98 615 572 1,187
2004 94 109 102 531 684 1,215
2005 101 107 104 546 604 1,150
2006 106 107 107 567 574 1,141
2007 105 113 109 547 634 1,181
2008 121 116 118 638 599 1,237
Early childhood attendance by Year 1 students, by ethnic group
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
2000 430 95.8 206 90.4 5 62.5 7 100.0 1 100.0 649 93.7
2001 434 95.4 183 92.4 14 93.3 2 100.0 2 100.0 635 94.5
2002 366 93.8 193 94.1 15 100.0 1 50.0 3 100.0 578 94.0
2003 392 96.6 215 92.7 15 93.8 7 77.8 1 100.0 630 94.9
2004 327 95.3 187 92.6 11 100.0 7 100.0 2 66.7 534 94.3
2005 357 97.8 215 93.1 11 100.0 12 85.7 5 100.0 600 95.8
2006 340 96.9 220 97.3 10 90.9 13 92.9 2 100.0 585 96.9
2007 302 93.5 211 95.9 22 100.0 9 81.8 4 80.0 548 94.3
2008 318 96.1 205 96.2 13 100.0 14 100.0 3 100.0 553 96.3

School leavers with higher qualifications

The proportion of school leavers who had attained a qualification at National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2 or above, and the proportion who leave with Bursary and above.

School leavers with higher qualifications, by sex
Year NCEA Level 2 or higher Bursary or higher
Sex (%) Total Sex (%) Total
Male Female Number % Male Female Number %
2005 57.7 65.3 480 61.5 31.6 34.4 258 33.0
2006 60.3 65.1 440 62.7 35.5 42.2 272 38.7
2007 64.1 71.7 452 67.7 35.6 42.4 259 38.8
School leavers with higher qualifications, by ethnicity
NCEA Level 2 or higher
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
2005 372 67.5 90 43.7 6 60.0 12 85.7 0 0.0 480 61.5
2006 344 68.4 70 42.4 11 68.8 14 82.4 1 100.0 440 62.7
2007 331 72.6 91 52.0 15 75.0 14 87.5 1 100.0 452 67.7
Bursary or higher
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
2005 218 39.6 29 14.1 3 30.0 8 57.1 0 0.0 258 33.0
2006 219 43.5 33 20.0 8 50.0 12 70.6 0 0.0 272 38.7
2007 207 45.4 36 20.6 5 25.0 11 68.8 0 0.0 259 38.8

Educational attainment of the adult population

The proportion of adults aged 25 - 64 years with an educational attainment of at least upper secondary school level.

Proportion (%) and number aged 25 - 64 with higher qualifications, by age and sex, 2006
Sex 25 - 44 45 - 64 25 - 64
Number % Number % Number %
At least upper secondary 
Male 3,081 72.2 3,114 67.4 6,195 69.7
Female 3,792 77.5 3,300 66.1 7,092 71.7
Total 6,873 75.0 6,414 66.7 13,290 70.8
At least tertiary
Male 477 11.2 510 11.0 990 11.1
Female 741 15.1 495 9.9 1,239 12.5
Total 1,221 13.3 1,005 10.5 2,226 11.9
Proportion (%) and number aged 25 - 64 with higher qualifications, by ethnic group and year
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
At least upper secondary
1986 9,345 56.5 642 31.3 60 35.7 90 62.5 3 50.0 9,972 53.7
1991 10,497 60.8 1,011 38.4 108 46.8 138 64.8 9 100.0 11,532 57.9
1996 10,614 60.6 1,344 42.3 135 44.6 141 48.5 30 71.4 11,650 57.6
2001 10,776 69.8 1,557 51.9 195 61.9 219 76.8 39 86.7 12,174 67.1
2006 11,577 72.9 1,917 57.9 216 64.9 375 83.3 48 94.1 13,290 70.8
At least tertiary
1986 825 5.0 21 1.0 3 1.8 21 14.6 0 0.0 859 4.6
1991 891 5.2 36 1.4 6 2.6 51 23.9 3 33.3 976 4.9
1996 1,125 6.4 54 1.7 9 3.0 48 16.5 6 14.3 1,210 6.0
2001 1,338 8.7 123 4.1 12 3.8 63 22.1 15 33.3 1,482 8.2
2006 1,962 12.4 228 6.9 33 9.9 132 29.3 18 35.3 2,226 11.9
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Paid Work

Workplace injury claims

The number of workplace accident insurance claims reported to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), excluding those employees who received accident and emergency treatment only.

December year Number of claims by sex % of claims by sex
Male Female Total Male Female
2002 2,358 787 3,145 75.0 25.0
2003 2,151 804 2,955 72.8 27.2
2004 2,135 678 2,813 75.9 24.1
2005 2,050 710 2,760 74.3 25.7
2006 2,022 698 2,720 74.3 25.7
2007 2,030 708 2,738 74.1 25.9
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Economic Standard of Living

Population with low incomes

The proportion of people living in households with real gross income less than 60 per cent of the median household equivalised national income benchmarked at 2001.

Population with low incomes, by ethnicity
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 6,453 21.0 1,683 37.9 120 33.3 69 23.7 9 30.0 7,965 22.9
1991 10,329 32.7 2,778 50.9 243 54.4 117 32.2 9 37.5 12,828 35.0
1996 9,684 31.0 2,811 47.4 258 44.3 198 38.8 27 37.5 11,838 33.1
2001 7,767 28.1 2,271 41.1 231 39.9 183 37.4 39 41.9 9,600 29.9
2006 6,807 24.2 2,103 34.9 231 34.8 255 36.3 15 17.9 8,484 26.0
Population with low incomes, by age
Year 0 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+ Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 2,514 29.2 657 12.5 1,464 15.9 1,230 18.3 2,097 42.6 7,965 22.9
1991 3,840 42.2 1,230 25.5 2,571 25.2 2,124 29.8 3,066 57.3 12,828 35.0
1996 3,612 41.2 1,251 29.3 2,448 24.9 1,800 24.6 2,730 49.2 11,838 33.1
2001 3,120 39.5 933 27.9 2,016 24.4 1,551 20.9 1,977 38.0 9,600 29.9
2006 2,337 32.4 729 21.4 1,560 19.8 1,530 17.9 2,325 41.5 8,484 26.0
Population with low incomes, by sex
Year Male Female
Number % Number %
1986 3,354 20.1 4,614 25.6
1991 5,439 31.2 7,392 38.5
1996 4,950 29.2 6,888 36.7
2001 4,020 26.3 5,580 33.2
2006 3,756 23.9 4,725 27.9

Household crowding

The proportion of the population living in crowded housing (ie requiring one or more additional bedrooms, as defined by the Canadian Crowding Index).

Household crowding, by ethnicity
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 2,472 7.2 1,668 28.4 153 33.6 66 19.8 0 0.0 4,209 10.3
1991 2,382 6.8 1,842 27.6 189 33.9 48 11.3 3 9.1 4,323 10.2
1996 1,789 5.2 1,575 21.3 160 20.9 110 17.1 18 20.5 3,290 8.0
2001 1,497 4.7 1,662 21.9 180 23.6 108 16.4 27 25.0 3,099 7.9
2006 1,461 4.6 1,599 19.7 180 20.5 147 16.0 12 11.8 3,096 7.9
Household crowding, by age
Year 0 - 9 10 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+ Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 957 14.2 549 15.0 1,275 18.9 954 8.7 414 5.4 63 1.3 4,209 10.3
1991 1,185 16.7 510 14.4 1,086 17.9 1,110 9.3 369 4.6 54 1.0 4,323 10.2
1996 1,004 14.7 360 10.8 693 12.6 868 7.6 302 3.6 63 1.1 3,290 8.0
2001 954 15.5 414 11.8 582 12.3 804 7.9 288 3.2 60 1.0 3,099 7.9
2006 783 14.3 417 12.5 666 13.8 753 8.0 393 4.0 87 1.4 3,096 7.9
Household crowding, by sex
Year Male Female
Number % Number %
1986 2,154 10.9 2,058 9.8
1991 2,139 10.6 2,184 9.9
1996 1,596 8.1 1,694 7.8
2001 1,539 8.2 1,560 7.6
2006 1,497 7.9 1,599 7.8
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Civil and Political Rights

Voter turnout - local authority elections

The proportion of all enrolled electors (both resident and ratepayer) who cast a vote in territorial authority elections.

Election year 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007
Voter turnout (%) 72.0 66.0 69.0 56.0 65.0 67.0 63.0

Representation of women in local government

The proportion of female council and mayoral candidates, and elected members or mayors, in local authority elections.

Election activity 2001 2004 2007
Council Mayor Council Mayor Council Mayor
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Women candidates 10 28.0 1 13.0 11 31.0 1 17.0 7 23.0 1 20.0
Women voted in 4 33.0 0 n/a 5 42.0 0 n/a 5 42.0 0 n/a
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Cultural Identity

Māori language speakers

The number of Māori who can hold a conversation about everyday things in Māori, as a proportion of the Māori population, and the total number of Māori speakers as a proportion of the total population.

Speakers of Māori 0 - 14 15 - 29 30 - 49 50 - 64 65+ Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1996 Māori 798 24.9 615 29.0 543 26.9 270 43.9 147 51.0 2,370 28.8
Total population 915 8.5 717 8.1 642 5.2 309 5.0 183 2.7 2,763 6.1
2001 Māori 849 25.9 573 28.4 612 27.4 264 35.9 162 50.9 2,460 28.6
Total population 930 9.2 678 8.9 729 6.1 321 4.8 195 2.8 2,853 6.6
2006 Māori 705 21.5 549 26.3 633 27.1 297 31.1 174 40.8 2,361 26.0
  Total population 747 8.1 627 8.8 756 6.7 360 4.7 213 2.9 2,700 6.3

Language retention

The proportion of people who can speak the "first language" (excluding English) of their ethnic group, for ethnic groups (other than Māori) with an established resident population in New Zealand.

  Born in NZ Overseas born Total
2001 2006 2001 2006 2001 2006
Language retention  (%) 20.5 19.4 71.7 73.0 43.1 45.2
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Physical Environment

Drinking water quality (can be more than 100% and highly variable)

The proportion of the estimated resident population who receive their water from community water supplies whose drinking water complies with either the 2000 or 2005 Drinking-water standards for New Zealand relating to E. coli and Cryptosporidium.

Year E. coli (%) Cryptosporidium (%)
2001 3.1 0.8
2002 90.0 0.8
2003 67.8 69.2
2004 24.2 1.8
2005 93.2 92.5
2006/2007 93.0 93.5
2007/2008 94.9 94.3

Safety

Road casualties

The number of people injured or killed in motor vehicle crashes per 100,000 of the total population.

Year Injuries Deaths
Number Rate per 100,000 Rate per 100,000
2001 113 256.8 9.1
2002 127 288.0 11.3
2003 134 305.2 20.5
2004 122 279.8 11.5
2005 140 323.3 9.2
2006 111 256.9 9.3
2007 119 272.9 11.5
2008 126 290.3 2.3
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Social Connectedness

Telephone and internet access in the home

The proportion of the population with telephone and internet access in the home.

Telephone access (%)
Year Ethnicity Sex Age Total
European Māori Pacific Asian Other Male Female 0 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+
1996 95.6 80.3 76.5 95.2 93.1 92.8 93.4 90.2 89.0 93.1 96.1 97.8 93.1
2001 97.0 85.8 84.9 96.4 100.0 94.7 95.2 92.9 92.9 94.4 96.7 98.4 95.0
2006 98.4 93.1 93.5 96.7 97.1 97.0 97.7 96.6 96.3 96.7 98.2 98.8 97.3
Internet access (%)
Year Ethnicity Sex Age Total
European Māori Pacific Asian Other Male Female 0 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+
2001 35.5 21.0 18.1 47.3 55.6 34.9 31.8 37.1 33.9 38.1 37.4 12.0 33.2
2006 60.4 43.3 37.9 69.7 68.6 58.5 56.1 61.9 58.3 62.1 64.4 31.8 57.3
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