International comparisons: Definitions and Data Sources
The definitions of the measures used for each indicator, the reference years the data comes from and the data sources for the international comparisons are detailed below. The majority of data for the Australian and New Zealand comparisons are from the same sources as the OECD data. The exceptions are: indigenous language speakers and satisfaction with work-life balance, where OECD comparisons are not made.
To make international comparisons for some indicators, we have used a slightly different outcome measure to that used in the main social report. Outcome measures for cigarette smoking, potentially hazardous drinking, educational attainment of the adult population, tertiary participation, market income per person, income inequality, voter turnout and internet access differ from those used to report the outcomes of the general New Zealand population in The Social Report 2008.
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.
Reference years: 2005–2006 (New Zealand and Australia 2006)
Data source: OECD (2008) OECD Health Data 2008 OECD: Paris.
Suicide
The number of suicide deaths per 100,000 population.
Reference years: 2001–2005 (New Zealand 2005; Australia 2003)
Data sources: Ministry of Health (2007) Suicide Facts: 2005–2006 data Public Health Intelligence Monitoring Report No 15, Ministry of Health: Wellington.
World Health Organization (2008) Suicide Prevention: Country Reports and Charts World Health Organization: Geneva.
Cigarette smoking
Percentage of the population aged 15 or more years who report that they are daily smokers.
Reference years: 2002–2005 (New Zealand 2006; Australia 2004)
Data source: OECD (2008) OECD Health Data 2008 OECD: Paris.
Obesity
The proportion of the adult population (normally the population aged 15 years and over) who are obese (Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 30).
Reference years: 1999–2006 (New Zealand 2006/2007) The most recent data for Australia is from 1999, which is over eight years earlier than New Zealand’s most recent data. Because of the time gap, obesity has not been included in the Australia and New Zealand comparisons.
Data source: OECD (2008) OECD Health Data 2008 OECD: Paris.
Ministry of Health (2008) A Portrait of Health. Key Results of the 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey Ministry of Health: Wellington.
Potentially hazardous drinking
Per-capita consumption of alcohol in litres (population 15 years and over).
Reference years: 2003–2006 (New Zealand 2006; Australia 2005)
Data source: OECD (2008) OECD Health Data 2008 OECD: Paris.
Knowledge and skills
Educational attainment of the adult population (upper secondary and tertiary)
The proportion of adults aged 25 to 64 years that have completed a certain level of education as defined by The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED-97). For Upper Secondary: (ISCED Level 3 and above). For Tertiary: (ISCED Level 5 and 6).
For more detail see: UNESCO Institute of Statistics (2006) ISCED 1997 UNESCO: Canada.
Reference year: 2005
Data source: OECD (2007) Education at a Glance 2007 OECD: Paris.
Tertiary participation
Percentage of 20–29 year-olds enrolled in public or private educational institutions for study.
Reference year: 2005
Data source: OECD (2007) Education at a Glance 2007 OECD: Paris.
Paid work
Unemployment
Percentage of the civilian population aged 15/16 years and over not in employment who are actively seeking and available for paid work.
Reference year: 2007
Data source: OECD (2008) OECD Main Economic Indicators OECD: Paris.
Employment
The proportion of the population aged 15/16–64 years who are in paid employment for at least one hour per week.
Reference year: 2007
Data source: OECD (2008) OECD Employment Outlook 2008 OECD: Paris.
Satisfaction with work-life balance
The proportion of employed people who are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their work-life balance.
Reference year: New Zealand relative to Australia: New Zealand 2006; Australia 2007
Data sources: Quality of Life Project (2007) Quality of Life Survey 2006: National Report Quality of Life Project and the Ministry of Social Development: New Zealand.
Pocock, B, Skinner, N and Williams, P Work, Life and Time: The Australian Work and Life Index 2007 Hawke Research Institute for Sustainable Societies, University of South Australia: Adelaide.
Economic standard of living
Market income per person
Gross Domestic Product per person adjusted using purchasing power parities.
Reference year: 2006
Data source: OECD (2008) National Accounts of OECD countries, Main Aggregates, Volume 1 1995–2006, OECD: Paris.
Income inequality
The extent of the disparity between high and low incomes. The measure used here is the Gini coefficient. Gini coefficients measure income inequality, with a score of 100 indicating perfect inequality and a score of 0 indicating perfect equality.
Reference years: 2000–2005 (New Zealand and Australia 2004)
Data sources: Forster, M. and Mira d’Ercole, M. (2007) Distribution of Resources in OECD Countries Paper for Working Party on Social Policy, OECD: Paris.
Population with low incomes
The proportion of the population in households with equivalised disposable income below 50 percent of the median equivalised disposable income, where household disposable income is equivalised using the square root of household size.
Reference years: 2000–2005 (New Zealand and Australia 2004)
Data sources: Forster, M. and Mira d’Ercole, M. (2007) Distribution of Resources in OECD Countries Paper for Working Party on Social Policy, OECD: Paris.
Civil and political rights
Voter turnout
Proportion of registered voters who cast votes in the general Parliamentary election.
Reference years: 2004–2008 (New Zealand 2005; Australia 2007)
Data source: Inter-Parliamentary Union (2007) PARLINE Database, data from the most recent election as of April 2008.
Representation of women in Parliament
The proportion of elected Members of Parliament (lower house if two houses of Parliament) who are women.
Reference year: As at 31 March 2008
Data source: Inter-Parliamentary Union (2007) Women in National Parliaments, Situation as of 31 March 2008.
Perceived corruption
The perceived level of corruption – defined as "the abuse of public office for private gain" – among politicians and public officials, on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (highly clean). A country’s score in the Corruption Perceptions Index is derived by Transparency International from a number of different surveys of business people and country analysts.
Reference year: 2007
Data source: Transparency International (2007) Corruption Perceptions Index 2007 Transparency International: Berlin
Cultural identity
Indigenous language speakers
Percentage of the indigenous population, which can hold an everyday conversation in an indigenous language.
New Zealand: Indigenous population Māori and language Māori
Australia: Indigenous population Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and languages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, which number over 100.
Reference years: New Zealand relative to Australia: New Zealand 2006; Australia 2002
Data sources: Statistics New Zealand (2007) 2006 Census Statistics New Zealand: Wellington.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2004) National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey 2002 Australian Bureau of Statistics: Canberra.
Safety
Assault mortality
The number of people who have died as a result of assault, per 100,000 population.
Reference years: 2001–2003 (New Zealand 2001; Australia 2003)
Data source: OECD (2007) OECD Health Data 2007 OECD: Paris.
Road casualties (deaths)
The number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes as a proportion (per 100,000) of the total population.
Reference years: 2004–2006 (New Zealand and Australia 2006)
Data source: OECD, International Road Traffic and Accident Database 2008
Social Connectedness
Internet access
Percentage of households with access to the internet at home.
Reference years: 2003–2006 (New Zealand 2006; Australia 2005–2006)
Data source: OECD (2007) OECD Key ICT Indicators OECD: Paris
Trust in others
The proportion of the population aged 15 years and over reporting that people usually can be trusted.
Reference years: 2003–2006 (New Zealand and Australia 2006)
Data sources: Quality of Life Project (2007) Quality of Life Survey 2006: National Report Quality of Life Project and the Ministry of Social Development: New Zealand.
Statistics Canada (2004) 2003 General Social Survey on Social Engagement, Cycle 17 and Overview of the Findings Statistics Canada: Ottawa.
European Commission (2005) Social Values, Science and Technology: Special Eurobarometer 225 European Commission: Brussels.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006) General Social Survey: Summary Results Australian Bureau of Statistics: Canberra. |
