Conclusion
In this section, we summarise the changes in social outcomes for New Zealanders since the mid-1990s, based on the updated indicators, and we compare New Zealanders’ wellbeing with that of people living in other countries. We summarise the changes for Māori, Pacific peoples, Asian and Other ethnic groups since this time. We also consider the differences in social outcomes for men and women and the differences between socio-economic groups.
Changes in social wellbeing over time
Social wellbeing in New Zealand has improved since the mid-1990s
Overall, New Zealanders have a good level of wellbeing and our wellbeing continues to improve across a number of domains. This report shows most social outcomes have improved strongly since the mid-1990s, as did previous reports. New Zealanders on average are living longer, are more highly educated and are more prosperous than they were in the mid-1990s.
Most of the indicators for which 10-year trends are available show improvements in wellbeing. A small number of these indicators have improved since the mid-1990s, but more recently have been static or have declined slightly.
We use 41 indicators in this report. Together, these indicators provide a snapshot of wellbeing in New Zealand, how it has changed over time, how different groups within our society are faring, and how New Zealand compares with other countries. This section summarises the findings from these indicators, 30 of which have been updated with new data this year.
New Zealanders have better health outcomes compared with the mid-1990s
Life expectancy improved between 1995–1997 and 2005–2007 for males and females, with males experiencing a greater improvement than females over this period. The proportion of the population who smoke cigarettes fell four percentage points between 1997 and 2006/2007 to 22 percent.106 The suicide death rate has also improved since 1997, although the rate was slightly higher in 2003–2005 than it was in 2002–2004. The obesity rate has worsened by 6.8 percentage points since 1997 – a quarter of New Zealanders aged 15 years and over were obese in 2006/2007. The proportion of drinkers aged 15 years and over with a potentially hazardous drinking pattern has not changed since 1996/1997.
There have been gains in the knowledge and skills of New Zealanders since the mid-1990s
The participation rate in early childhood education improved by 11.3 percentage points for 3 year olds and by 5.8 percentage points for 4 year olds between 1997 and 2007. Since the introduction of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) in 2003, the proportion of school leavers gaining NCEA Level 2 or above has improved. A higher proportion of the population aged 15 years and over participated in tertiary education in 2007 than in 1999, although the rate has fallen slightly since 2005. Most of this decline was due to a fall in the number of people taking Levels 1–3 certificate courses rather than courses at a bachelor’s degree level or higher, reflecting an emphasis on improving the quality of tertiary qualifications. The proportion of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification has almost doubled since 1997. The proportion of adults who have an educational qualification at upper secondary school level or above increased by three percentage points between 1997 and 2007, but has fluctuated since 2003.
The indicators in the Paid Work domain all show an improvement compared with the mid-1990s
In 2007, the unemployment rate was three percentage points lower than the rate in 1997 (3.6 percent compared to 6.6 percent), and the lowest it has been over this period. Unemployment has remained under 4 percent since 2004. Over this same 10-year period, the employment rate increased by 4.9 percentage points, to reach a high of 75.4 percent. Real median hourly earnings increased by $2.65 between 1997 and 2007 (from $15.35 to $18.00). The rate of workplace injury claims fell between 2001 and 2006. In 2006, three-quarters of New Zealanders in employment reported being satisfied with their work-life balance.
The majority of indicators in the Economic Standard of Living domain have improved since the mid-1990s
In the Economic Standard of Living domain, market income per person was higher in 2007 than it was in the mid-1990s. Income inequality worsened between 1997 and 2004, but had improved by 2007 to be at a level similar to that in 1997. The proportion of the population with low incomes was considerably lower in 2007 than in the mid-1990s. In 2007, 13 percent of the population was living in households with incomes below the threshold of 60 percent of median income after deducting housing costs, compared with 22 percent living below this threshold in 1997. The proportion of households spending more than 30 percent of their disposable income on housing was similar in 2007 to what it was in 1997, reversing an improvement from 1997 to 2004. For households in the lowest 20 percent of the income distribution, housing affordability continued to improve after 2004, and the proportion with high housing costs was substantially lower in 2007 than in 1997. Household crowding has improved from 1996, although the rate deteriorated slightly between 2001 and 2006.
The picture is mixed in the Civil and Political Rights domain
Between December 2001 and November 2007, the perception that different groups were subject to some or a great deal of discrimination fell for all groups. Māori, Pacific peoples, refugees and gays and lesbians experienced the greatest reduction in perceived discrimination over this period. There has been little change in New Zealand’s level of perceived corruption over the last 10 years and we continue to remain a world leader in this area. The proportion of women in Parliament improved from 29 percent in 1996 to 32 percent in 2005. Voter turnout has declined over this period and although there was an increase in voter turnout between the 2002 and 2005 general elections it remains below the 1996 level. Voter turnout also declined for local government elections between the 1998 and 2007 elections.
Cultural Identity outcomes are mixed
In the Cultural Identity domain, more local content is being broadcast on television than there was in the mid-1990s. There has been a five percentage point improvement in local content in prime-time television hours between 1997 and 2007. The proportion of Māori who can speak Māori declined slightly between 2001 and 2006 although the total number of Māori who can do so increased over this period. Between 2001 and 2006, most ethnic groups experienced little change in the proportion of people who could speak the first language of their ethnic group. There were slight increases in the proportion of first-language speakers for the Tongan, Indian and Korean ethnic groups and slight decreases for most Pacific and European ethnic groups. The proportion of people who could hold an everyday conversation in the first language of their ethnic group varied widely.
There has been no change in New Zealanders’ physical activity levels
Data is not available to draw comparisons to the mid-1990s for many of the indicators in the Leisure and Recreation domain. Around one half of New Zealanders aged 15 years and over met the guidelines for being physically active in 2006/2007. A similar proportion met the guidelines in 2002/2003. Almost three quarters of New Zealanders aged 15 years and over were satisfied overall with their leisure time in 2006. In 2002, 93percent of New Zealanders experienced one or more of the cultural activities included in the 2002 Cultural Experiences Survey.
The Physical Environment outcomes have generally improved
In the Physical Environment domain, there has been an improvement in compliance with the Drinking Water Standards for E. coli and Cryptosporidium between 2001 and 2006/2007. All five major cities averaged PM10 levels better than the air quality guidelines in 2007.
In the Safety area, there are fewer deaths but more injuries as a result of road accidents, and a similar number of deaths from an assault or intentional injury
The motor vehicle accident death rate was lower in 2007 than it was in 1997, although it worsened slightly between 2006 and 2007. The motor vehicle accident injury rate fell between 1997 and 2000, but has increased since this time. The 2007 motor vehicle accident injury rate was higher than the 1997 rate. The assault mortality rate fluctuated between 1995 and 2005. The 2005 provisional assault mortality rate increased sharply from 2004, but was below the peak rates in 1996 and 1997. It should be noted rates based on small numbers are volatile, and trends can be difficult to discern over the short term. In 2005, 40 percent of New Zealanders aged 15 years and over said fear of crime had a moderate or high impact on their quality of life and 39 percent of New Zealanders reported experiencing some form of criminal victimisation. Comparisons with earlier results are not possible due to changes in the survey design.
There have been improvements in the Social Connectedness domain
In the Social Connectedness domain, there was a 23 percentage point improvement between 2001 and 2006 in the proportion of people who lived in households with access to the internet. The proportion of people who had access to a telephone in their home increased by two percentage points to 98 percent over the same period. A similar proportion of adults aged 18 years and over had friends or family over for a meal at least once a month in 2000 and 2004. In 2006, 76 percent of New Zealanders said they believed people can be trusted and 18 percent of New Zealanders reported feeling lonely during the past 12 months. In 2001, around 60 percent of secondary school students reported that most weeks they were able to spend enough time with either their mum or dad.
Figure CO1 Changes in social wellbeing, 1995–1997 to 2005–2007
Interpreting "Changes in social wellbeing, 1995–1997 to 2005–2007"
The circle  represents average outcomes for each indicator between 1995 and 1997, and the spokes  represent outcomes between 2005 and 2007. Where possible, the data is averaged over the three-years in these two time periods. Where a spoke falls outside the circle, this means outcomes have improved since the mid-1990s; the further from the circle it falls, the larger the improvement. Where a spoke falls within the circle, outcomes in this area have deteriorated since the mid-1990s; the further the spoke is from the circle, the more pronounced the deterioration. There are, however, some important limitations on this style of presentation. In particular we cannot directly compare the size of changes for different indicators. The absence of trend data for some indicators limits the number of indicators displayed above to 23. Most of the latest data is from 2005–2007, with the exception of suicide and assault mortality (both 2003–2005).
Social wellbeing in New Zealand compared to OECD countries
Wellbeing in New Zealand compares favourably to that of other OECD countries
For many indicators, New Zealand compares very well with other countries. New Zealand is at or above the OECD median for two-thirds of the 22 indicators for which there is internationally comparable data.
New Zealand performs extremely well in the Civil and Political Rights domain. New Zealand consistently has one of the lowest levels of perceived corruption in the OECD; in 2007 we had the lowest level of perceived corruption along with Denmark and Finland. New Zealand is in the top half of the OECD for the proportion of women in Parliament and for voter turnout.
Paid Work is another area in which New Zealand performs strongly, with a relatively high employment rate and a relatively low unemployment rate. In 2007, our unemployment rate was fourth lowest in the OECD and we had the sixth highest employment rate.
New Zealand also performs very well in the Social Connectedness area, with New Zealanders having a high level of trust in others and a high level of households with internet access.
In the area of Knowledge and Skills, New Zealand is above the OECD median for the proportion of adults who have at least upper secondary school qualifications, for those who have a bachelor’s degree or higher, and for participation in tertiary education among 20–29 year olds.
In the Health domain, New Zealand’s results are mixed. Our life expectancy is similar to the OECD median, although there is a relatively narrow range of outcomes across the OECD for this indicator. New Zealand’s cigarette smoking rate and per capita consumption of alcohol are slightly better than the OECD median. Our obesity rate is similar to those of Australia and the United Kingdom, lower than that of the United States, but higher than the reported rates in most of the other OCED countries that use a less robust measurement method. We have relatively high suicide death rates.
New Zealand’s rate of road deaths is about the same as the OECD median, while New Zealand’s assault mortality rate was higher than the OECD median using data from 2001–2003.
Our Economic Standard of Living results tend to be lower than those in many OECD countries. In 2004, New Zealand was near the middle of the OECD for population with low incomes and was higher than the OECD median for income inequality. In 2006, New Zealand was below the OECD median for market income per person.
Figure CO2 Social wellbeing in New Zealand, relative to the OECD
Changes in wellbeing for different population subgroups
The indicators used in The Social Report 2008 enable us to compare how social wellbeing differs across groups within the New Zealand population. Across a wide range of indicators Māori, Pacific peoples and people of Other ethnicity tend to experience poorer average outcomes than the rest of the population. People living in deprived areas also experience poorer outcomes. Comparisons between women and men reveal a more mixed picture.
It is worth noting these comparisons are for population group averages and, in most cases, the variation in outcomes between members of any one group is much greater than those between groups. It is also important to note the risk of poor outcomes often varies by age. For example, younger age groups have higher rates of unemployment, suicide death, road casualties and criminal victimisation and lower incomes than older age groups. For ethnic groups with a young age profile, such as Māori and Pacific peoples, this means poor outcomes relative to those of other ethnic groups may be partly attributable to the different age structures of the groups. This should be kept in mind when comparing outcomes between ethnic groups for indicators where the data has not been age standardised.
Māori
Outcomes for Māori have improved since the mid-1990s for the majority of indicators
The majority of indicators for which we have time series data show improvements in wellbeing for Māori since the mid-1990s. In many instances, improvements have been greater for Māori than for the total population over this period. Life expectancy, participation in tertiary education, and unemployment and employment rates have all improved at a greater rate for Māori than the total population over this period. Despite these improvements, in these areas and in others, average outcomes for Māori tend to be poorer than average outcomes for the total population.
Life expectancy for Māori has increased, with a considerable improvement in the five years to 2000–2002. Life expectancy for Māori males was 69 years in 2000–2002 compared to 66.6 years in 1995–1997, and for Māori females it was 73.2 years compared to 71.3 years, respectively. Despite these improvements, Māori still have a shorter life expectancy than non-Māori. In 2006, the gap in independent life expectancy at birth between Māori and non-Māori was 6 years for males and 6.1 years for females. Suicide death rates for Māori have improved since 1997, as they have for non-Māori. However, the rate for Māori worsened between 2002 and 2004. Māori women have the highest cigarette smoking rate of any ethnic group (47 percent) followed by Māori men (40 percent). There has been a decline in cigarette smoking for Māori since the mid-1990s. There was no significant change from 1997 to 2006/2007 in the prevalence of obesity either for Māori men or Māori women. Māori had the second highest prevalence of obesity in 2006/2007. Māori drinkers are significantly more likely to have a potentially hazardous drinking pattern than drinkers in the total population. Since 1996/1997, Māori females have been significantly more likely to have a potentially hazardous drinking pattern than female drinkers in the total population.
In the Knowledge and Skills domain, since 2000 there has been an improvement in the participation of Māori children in early childhood education. While the rate of participation for Māori children in 2007 is still lower than that for European children, the gap has narrowed. The proportion of Māori students leaving school with a qualification at NCEA Level 2 or above increased by 15.1 percentage points between 2003 and 2007. This was the greatest improvement experienced by any ethnic group over this period. However, Māori school leavers have the lowest level of educational attainment of any ethnic group at this level. Māori have had the highest participation rate in tertiary education of any ethnic group since 2001. Māori participation is higher at older age groups and in Levels 1–3 certificate courses than for other ethnic groups. Between 1997 and 2007, the proportion of the Māori adult population with upper secondary education increased by 11.9 percentage points, reaching its highest level in 2003, before declining. This increase reduced the gap between Māori and Europeans. The percentage of Māori with tertiary qualifications more than trebled between 1997 and 2007. Despite this, the percentage point gap between Māori and Europeans with tertiary qualifications increased.
Employment and unemployment rates for Māori have improved since the mid-1990s with the unemployment rate for Māori more than halving over this period. This was the greatest percentage point improvement in the rate of unemployment for any ethnic group over this period and it reduced the difference in the unemployment rate between Māori and Europeans from 12 percentage points in 1997 to 5.1 percentage points in 2007. However, Māori had the highest unemployment rate of any ethnic group throughout this period. The employment rate for Māori increased by 11.1 percentage points between 1997 and 2007, narrowing the gap between the employment rates of Māori and Europeans from 20.4 percentage points to 14.2 percentage points. Between June 1997 and June 2007, the real median hourly earnings of Māori increased by 15 percent. The ratio of Māori to European median hourly earnings was over 85 percent between 1998 and 2006, but fell to 81 percent in 2007. Māori have a higher rate of workplace injury claims than any other ethnic group. This is likely to reflect the relatively greater representation of Māori in more dangerous industries and occupations. Māori had the lowest level of satisfaction with their work-life balance of any ethnic group in 2006.
In the Economic Standard of Living domain, the proportion of households with at least one Māori adult spending more than 30 percent of their disposable income on housing was better in 2007 than in 1997, although it worsened between 2004 and 2007. Median household incomes for Māori improved between 1997 and 2004, and have remained almost unchanged since 2004. The proportion of Māori experiencing household crowding fell between 1996 and 2006.
Between 2001 and 2006, the proportion of Māori who can speak Māori declined slightly while the total number of Māori who can do so increased over this period.
Despite a stronger improvement for Māori than non-Māori in the assault mortality rate between 1996 and 2005, Māori are considerably more likely to die from an assault or intentional injury than non-Māori. In 2005, the age-standardised rate for Māori was 3.5 deaths per 100,000 compared with 1.2 per 100,000 for non-Māori. Māori are also almost twice as likely as the total population to die in motor vehicle accidents. Māori are more likely to be the victims of crime than Europeans (47 percent compared with 37 percent for Europeans). While 36 percent of Europeans reported that fear of crime impacted on their quality of life, 47 percent of Māori reported this.
Māori experienced one of the largest increases in internet access in the home, with a 21 percentage point increase between 2001 and 2006. However, Māori still have a lower level of internet access than the total population. Māori had one of the lowest levels of telephone access in the home in 2001 and 2006, but experienced one of the greatest increases over this period. In 2006, Māori had the second lowest rate of loneliness. Māori are more likely than Europeans to participate in cultural and arts activities and to have regular contact with family and friends.
Figure CO3 Changes in social wellbeing for Māori, 1995–1997 or 2000–2002 and 2005–2007
Interpreting "Changes in social wellbeing for Māori"
The circle represents average outcomes for Māori against each indicator between 1995 and 1997, or 2000 and 2002. Indicators with an asterisk * do not have data from the mid-1990s to 2005–2007. Therefore, the circle represents 2000–2002 rather than 1995–1997 for these five indicators. The spokes represent the most recent outcomes, averaged where possible, over the most recent three years, 2005–2007. Where a spoke falls outside the circle this means outcomes for Māori are better now than they were in the earlier time period. The further the spoke is from the circle, the greater the improvement. Where a spoke falls inside the circle, the outcomes for Māori are worse now than they were in the earlier time period. The further the spoke is from the circle the more pronounced this effect. There are, however, some important limitations on this style of presentation. In particular, we cannot directly compare the size of changes for different indicators. Most of the latest data is from 2005–2007, with the exception of suicide, assault mortality, road casualties (all 2003–2005) and life expectancy (2000–2002).
Pacific peoples
Outcomes for Pacific peoples have improved for most of the indicators we can compare to the mid-1990s
Pacific peoples, like Māori, have experienced real gains in wellbeing over this period. While a number of these improvements have been greater than for the total New Zealand population, Pacific peoples outcomes overall are poor compared to the total population.
Pacific peoples have the highest prevalence of obesity of any ethnic group and the second highest cigarette smoking rate. The rate of potentially hazardous drinking by Pacific peoples in 2006/2007 was similar to the level in 1996/1997, with Pacific peoples having the highest rate along with Māori.
The educational attainment of Pacific peoples has improved since the mid-1990s, but recent changes are mixed. The proportion of Pacific children who participated in early childhood education before attending primary school increased by 7.9 percentage points between 2000 and 2007, a faster rate than that for European or Māori children. This reduced the gap between Pacific peoples and the European population from 19.3 percentage points to 14.2 percentage points. The proportion of Pacific students leaving school with a qualification at NCEA Level 2 or above increased by 13.7 percentage points between 2003 and 2007. Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of Pacific peoples who participated in tertiary education increased by 3.1 percentage points. The proportion of Pacific peoples with upper secondary qualifications increased between 1997 and 2003, but has declined since so the rate in 2007 is similar to that in 1997. Despite a three-fold increase in the proportion of Pacific peoples with tertiary qualifications between 1997 and 2007, the percentage point gap between Pacific peoples and the total population has increased.
All three indicators in the Paid Work domain where data for Pacific peoples is available since the mid-1990s show a strong improvement in outcomes. The unemployment rate for Pacific peoples, like that of Māori, has fallen markedly, by 8.7 percentage points since 1997. The employment rate for Pacific peoples has improved by 7.3 percentage points since 1997. Real median hourly earnings increased by 16 percent for Pacific peoples between 1997 and 2007. The ratio of Pacific peoples to European median hourly earnings was around 80 percent between 1997 and 2007. Pacific peoples have the second highest rate of workplace injury after Māori.
The proportion of households with at least one Pacific adult spending more than 30 percent of their disposable income on housing was better in 2007 than in 1997, although it worsened between 2004 and 2007. Median household incomes for Pacific peoples improved between 1997 and 2007. The proportion of Pacific peoples experiencing household crowding fell between 1996 and 2006. However, Pacific peoples are almost twice as likely as Māori and almost 10 times as likely as Europeans to live in households requiring at least one additional bedroom.
In 2006/2007, Pacific peoples had lower rates of participation in physical activity than Māori or Europeans. Pacific peoples experienced the greatest improvement in telephone access in the home between 2001 and 2006. Over this same time, their access to the internet almost doubled but Pacific peoples still had the lowest rate of internet access in the home.
Since 2003, Pacific peoples have had the lowest death rate as a result of motor vehicle crashes. In 2005, 47 percent of Pacific peoples were victims of crime and the same proportion reported that fear of crime impacted on their quality of life. In 2006, Pacific peoples recorded the lowest level of trust in others. Pacific peoples also reported the highest level of satisfaction with their work-life balance in 2006.
Figure CO4 Changes in social wellbeing for Pacific peoples, 1995–1997 or 2000–2002 and 2005–2007
Interpreting "Changes in social wellbeing for Pacific peoples"
The circle represents average outcomes for Pacific peoples against each indicator between 1995 and 1997, or 2000 and 2002. Indicators with an asterisk * do not have data from the mid-1990s to 2005–2007. Therefore, the circle represents 2000–2002 rather than 1995–1997 for these five indicators. The spokes represent the most recent outcomes, averaged where possible, over the most recent three years, 2005–2007. Where a spoke falls outside the circle this means outcomes for Pacific peoples are better now than they were in the earlier time period. The further the spoke is from the circle, the greater the improvement. Where a spoke falls inside the circle, the outcomes for Pacific peoples are worse now than they were in the earlier time period. The further the spoke is from the circle the more pronounced this effect. There are, however, some important limitations on this style of presentation. In particular, we cannot directly compare the size of changes for different indicators. Most of the latest data is from 2005–2007, with the exception of road casualties (2003–2005).
Other ethnicities
Outcomes for the Other ethnic group are mixed
Ethnicities other than European, Māori and Pacific peoples are referred to as Other. Some surveys used in this report provide separate data on Asian people. In other cases, data on Asian people is included in the Other ethnicities category. This, along with the diverse make-up of the Other category, probably contributes to the mixed outcomes evident for this group. The number of indicators available for this group is limited.
Asians aged 15–64 years had the lowest cigarette smoking rate of all ethnic groups in 2006/2007. The Asian population aged 15 years and over have the lowest obesity rate of all ethnic groups, although it worsened between 1997 and 2006/2007 as it did for the population as a whole. Between 2002/2003 and 2006/2007, only Asians aged 15 years and over had a statistically significant increase in obesity. Asian drinkers are significantly less likely than drinkers in the total population to have a potentially hazardous drinking pattern.
After European children, Asian children are the most likely to have attended an early childhood education service before going to primary school, followed by children of the Other ethnic group. The rate of attendance of children from both these groups grew faster than the rate for European children between 2000 and 2007. Asian school leavers were the most likely to leave school with a qualification at NCEA Level 2 or above in 2007, and the Other ethnic group experienced a 12.8 percentage point improvement between 2003 and 2007. Asians aged 15 years and over had the second highest participation rate in tertiary education in 2007, after Māori, but they had the highest participation rates for degree level qualifications. A high proportion of adults from the Other (including Asian) ethnic group have at least upper secondary school qualifications and have tertiary qualifications at bachelor’s degree level or higher. The proportion of adults from the Other (including Asian) ethnic group with tertiary qualifications is almost double the total for the New Zealand population.
The Other (including Asian) ethnic group has the second lowest rate of unemployment, after Europeans. Between 1997 and 2005, partly as a result of more international students studying in New Zealand, the Other ethnic group (including Asian) had the lowest rate of employment of any ethnic group. In 2006 and 2007, the employment rate of the Other ethnic group was higher than that for Pacific peoples. Since 1997, the Other ethnic group (including Asian) has consistently had the second highest level of median hourly earnings, after Europeans. The level has been falling since 2003, which has contributed to the Other ethnic group experiencing the lowest percentage increase in real median hourly earnings from wage and salary jobs over the 10 years to June 2007. The Other (including Asian) ethnic group had the second lowest rate of work-related injury claims in 2006.
Median household incomes for the Other ethnic group fluctuated between the mid-1990s and 2007. While the long-run trend is positive, robust comparisons between survey years are not possible. The proportion of households with at least one adult from the Other ethnic group spending more than 30 percent of their disposable income on housing was better in 2007 than in 1997, but similar to the 2001 level. The proportion of people in the Asian and Other ethnic group experiencing household crowding improved between 1996 and 2006.
Asian people were the group most likely to be perceived as being subject to a great deal or some discrimination in 2007. The perception of discrimination against Asian people worsened between 2000 and 2003, but had improved by 2007.
Asians aged 15 years and over were the least likely to meet the physical activity guidelines in 2006/2007. In 2006, people of the Other ethnic group reported the highest equal level of trust in others (77 percent). The rate for Asian people was 68 percent, which was the second to lowest rate behind Pacific peoples. Asian people were the most likely to report that fear of crime impacted on their quality of life. In 2006, the criminal victimisation rate for Asians aged 15 years and over was 43 percent (compared to 47 percent for Māori and Pacific peoples and 37 percent for Europeans).
In 2001 and in 2006, Asian people and the Other ethnic group had the highest levels of internet access in the home, and a high level of telephone access in the home. People living in Other economic families were the most likely to have friends or family over for a meal at least once a month and experienced the largest increase in this activity between 2000 and 2004. In 2006, Asian people aged 15 years and over reported the highest rate of loneliness (27 percent). Twenty-two percent of people in the Other ethnic group reported they were sometimes lonely. Europeans had the lowest reported rate, at 16 percent.
Women and men
While women’s and men’s outcomes are similar across many domains, women’s outcomes for Health and Knowledge and Skills are better than men’s, but men have better outcomes in Paid Work
Outcomes between women and men are mixed. Although women, on average, are healthier and increasingly better educated then men, women lag behind men in outcomes for Paid Work. Improvements for males in Health outcomes and improvements for females in Paid Work outcomes mean the gaps in outcomes are narrowing in these areas. Outcomes in the Knowledge and Skills domain are improving faster for females than for males.
On average, females live longer than males, but the sex gap in life expectancy is decreasing, reflecting gains for males. The gap has narrowed from 5.3 years in 1995–1997 to 4.1 years in 2005–2007. There is a marked sex gap in the suicide death rate. The suicide death rate for males is over three times that for females. The rate for both groups has fallen since 1997. Females have a higher rate of injury from intentional self harm than males. Obesity has increased for both males and females since the mid-1990s. There is no significant difference in obesity rates between the sexes. Females and males share similar rates of cigarette smoking. Male drinkers were more than twice as likely as female drinkers to have a potentially hazardous drinking pattern.
In 2007, 70 percent of females left school with NCEA Level 2 or above compared with 61 percent of males. Women are also more likely than men to participate in tertiary education, although the decline in participation between 2005 and 2007 was greater for women than for men. Men have a higher rate of attainment of upper secondary level or above qualifications than women. This has narrowed over time, to less than two percentage points since 2005. Since 1999, women in the 25–34 years age group are more likely than men in any age group to have upper secondary level or above qualifications. Since 1997, women have improved their attainment of tertiary qualifications at a faster rate than men, and by 2007 women had a slightly higher rate of attainment than men at this level.
In 2007, the unemployment rate was 3.3 percent for men and 3.9 percent for women. Men are more likely to be employed than women, although the female employment rate increased at a faster rate than the male rate between 1997 and 2007. In 2007, men had higher real median hourly earnings than women. The dollar gap between female and male hourly earnings reduced between 1997 and 2003, but has fluctuated since this time. Men are almost twice as likely as women to suffer workplace injuries involving a claim to ACC. This reflects in part a male predominance in relatively dangerous industries and occupations. Between 2001 and 2006, there was a greater improvement for males in the rate of workplace injuries than for females. Employed men and employed women have similar rates of satisfaction with their work-life balance. Among full-time workers, men are more likely to be satisfied than women.
Between 1997 and 2007, females were slightly more likely than males to be living in households with low incomes and in households that were spending more than 30 percent of their disposable income on housing. There is very little difference by sex in the likelihood of living in crowded households.
There are fewer female than male Members of Parliament. As a result of the 2005 general election, women hold 32 percent of the seats in Parliament. In the 2007 local government elections, 32 percent of elected members were women.
In 2006/2007, 54 percent of men and 47 percent of women met the physical activity guidelines. These figures were similar to the 2002/2003 levels for both men and women. In 2006, there was very little difference between the sexes in reported satisfaction with leisure time. Women were slightly more likely to experience one or more of the cultural activities included in the 2002 Cultural Experiences Survey.
In the Safety domain, males and females are equally as likely to experience some form of criminal victimisation. Although females were twice as likely as males to be the victims of sexual offences, males were more likely to be the victims of confrontational offences by people they did not know. Despite having the same criminal victimisation rate, females affected by partner violence were the victims of more incidents per person on average than males affected by partner violence.107 Women were more likely than men to report that fear of crime impacted on their quality of life. Males are more likely to die from an assault or intentional injury and are more likely to be injured or killed in motor vehicle accidents. Although road accident deaths have declined substantially for both sexes, the male road accident death rate has remained double that for females.
In the Social Connectedness domain, men and women reported a similar level of trust in others, but women were more likely than men to have felt lonely during the past 12 months. There is little difference between men and women in access to the internet and a telephone in their homes.
Figure CO5 Social wellbeing for females, relative to males, 2005–2007
Interpreting "Social wellbeing for females, relative to males"
The circle represents average outcomes for males. The spokes represent average outcomes for females. Where a spoke falls outside the circle, the outcome for females is better than for males. The further the spoke is from the circle, the better the outcome for females relative to males. Where a spoke falls inside the circle, the outcome for females is worse than for males. There are, however, some important limitations on this style of presentation. In particular, we cannot directly compare the size of changes for different indicators. Where possible, the data represents three-yearly averages. Most of the data is from 2005–2007 except for: suicide and assault mortality (2003–2005), participation in cultural and arts activities (2002) and contact between young people and their parents (2001).
Socio-economic differences
People living in deprived areas experience poorer outcomes, particularly in health
Health outcomes for people who live in the most deprived areas of New Zealand are worse than for people who live in the least deprived areas, as defined by the New Zealand Index of Deprivation (NZDep). In 2000–2002 males from the 10 percent most deprived areas could expect to live 8.9 fewer years, and females 6.6 fewer years compared to those living in the least deprived areas. In 2006, cigarette smoking, obesity and potentially hazardous drinking were also more prevalent among people living in lower socio-economic areas. Cigarette smoking rates were almost three times higher for people living in the most deprived quintile, compared to those living in the least deprived quintile. Obesity rates were also higher in the two most deprived quintiles, than in the two least deprived quintiles. Potentially hazardous drinking was significantly higher among people living in the most deprived quintile, compared to people in all other quintiles. The Ministry of Health publication, Tracking Disparity: Trends in ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities in mortality, 1981–2004, provides a more detailed account of health disparities.
Year 1 students attending schools drawn from communities with the lowest socio-economic characteristics are more likely not to have participated in early childhood education, when compared to Year 1 students attending schools drawn from high socio-economic areas. The educational outcomes of school leavers from lower decile schools are below those of school leavers from higher decile schools. In 2007, 49 percent of students from deciles 1–3 schools left with a qualification at NCEA Level 2 or above, compared to 79 percent of school leavers from deciles 8–10 schools. Low decile schools have been improving: there was a 10.7 percentage point increase in the percentage of students from deciles 1–3 schools leaving with a qualification at NCEA Level 2 or above between 2005 and 2007, compared to a 6.9 percentage increase for school leavers from deciles 8–10 schools.
In 2007, a similar proportion of households in the bottom three quintiles spent more than 30 percent of their disposable income on housing, between 29 percent and 33 percent. Since 1997, the proportion of households in the lowest quintile spending more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing declined, while the proportion in the middle quintile increased. In 2006, 5 percent of households with low incomes were crowded compared to 1 percent of households with high incomes. Since 2001, the household crowding rate for people in low income households has fallen slightly, from 6 percent. Unemployment and ethnicity are better markers of household crowding outcomes than household income.
The deprivation level of a community has no association with rates of participation in physical activity of people within the community. However, people living in the most deprived areas are slightly more likely to be victims of crime than those living in the least deprived areas.
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represents outcomes of the OECD upper quartile relative to the OECD median. Where a spoke falls inside the circle, New Zealand is in the bottom half of the OECD. Where the spoke falls outside the circle, outcomes in New Zealand are better than the OECD median. Where a spoke falls past the irregularly shaped line, New Zealand is in the top quarter of OECD outcomes. For each indicator, the most recent data has been used where possible. Most of the data comes from between 2005 and 2007, but the population with low incomes and income inequality data comes from 2004 and the assault mortality data comes from 2001–2003. SOME CAUTION IS REQUIRED WITH THIS DATA: international comparisons are difficult to interpret because of the different methods countries use to collect, classify and record social data.