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Christchurch City

This section provides people and indicator data for Christchurch City.

Download Christchurch City data in Excel format - 113kb

People data for Christchurch City

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 Christchurch City

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: Satisfaction with work/life balance, Workplace Injury

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

Leisure and Recreation: Satisfaction with leisure time, Participation in physical activity

Physical Environment: Drinking water quality

Safety: Perceptions of safety, Road casualties

Social Connectedness: Telephone and internet access in the home, Trust in others, Proportion of the population experiencing loneliness

People data for Christchurch City

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 54,969 18.6 8,865 34.5 3,516 37.1 5,244 19.7 870 29.3 65,670 18.8
15 - 24 41,085 13.9 5,064 19.7 1,866 19.7 7,485 28.1 600 20.2 53,469 15.3
25 - 44 82,425 27.9 7,266 28.2 2,481 26.2 8,634 32.4 1,017 34.3 99,768 28.6
45 - 64 72,372 24.5 3,711 14.4 1,323 14.0 4,296 16.1 417 14.1 82,332 23.6
65 - 74 21,186 7.2 588 2.3 207 2.2 681 2.6 39 1.3 22,995 6.6
75+ 23,061 7.8 228 0.9 78 0.8 294 1.1 18 0.6 24,201 6.9
Total 295,095 100.0 25,725 100.0 9,465 100.0 26,631 100.0 2,967 100.0 348,435 100.0
Ethnic % in the area 87.1 7.6 2.8 7.9 0.9 106.2
Sex
Male 141,789 48.0 12,954 50.4 4,812 50.8 12,495 46.9 1,581 53.3 168,420 48.3
Female 153,303 52.0 12,771 49.6 4,653 49.2 14,139 53.1 1,386 46.7 180,015 51.7
    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
no. %
1996 317,900  -  - 4,235 2,793 1,442
1997 321,400 3,500 1.1 4,359 2,621 1,738
1998 323,400 2,000 0.6 3,996 2,508 1,488
1999 324,700 1,300 0.4 4,231 2,692 1,539
2000 325,800 1,100 0.3 4,232 2,529 1,703
2001 335,300 9,500 2.9 4,244 2,604 1,640
2002 340,500 5,200 1.6 4,068 2,726 1,342
2003 347,600 7,100 2.1 4,298 2,661 1,637
2004 353,200 5,600 1.6 4,628 2,845 1,783
2005 357,200 4,000 1.1 4,520 2,604 1,916
2006 361,800 4,600 1.3 4,640 2,750 1,890
2007 365,700 3,900 1.1 5,139 2,869 2,270
2008 369,000 3,300 0.9 4,985 2,836 2,149

Projected population change

Variant Population at 30 June Change 2006 - 2031
2006 2011 2016 2021 2026 2031 Number %
High   384,400 404,600 423,200 440,700 457,300 95,500 26.0
Medium 361,800 377,400 390,700 402,300 412,800 422,100 60,300 17.0
Low   370,300 376,800 381,700 385,400 387,800 26,000 7.0

Household composition

Household composition 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Couples with children 36,369 35.2 34,584 31.6 34,065 29.1 32,571 26.4 35,727 27.0
Couples without children 25,875 25.0 28,089 25.7 31,809 27.2 33,087 26.8 36,579 27.6
Multi-family 729 0.7 1,008 0.9 1,884 1.6 1,497 1.2 2,295 1.7
One parent family 10,701 10.4 12,570 11.5 13,335 11.4 14,979 12.1 15,354 11.6
One person 22,386 21.7 25,110 22.9 27,495 23.5 32,721 26.5 33,519 25.3
Other multi-person 7,302 7.1 8,079 7.4 8,403 7.2 8,649 7.0 8,892 6.7
Total 103,356 100.0 109,440 100.0 116,991 100.0 123,504 100.0 132,369 100.0
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Indicator data for Christchurch City

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) 74.8 80.3 77.1 82.1 79.0 82.4

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 33,279 32.6 29,706 28.1 62,994 30.2
1996 26,016 23.2 25,527 21.7 51,528 22.4
2006 25,566 21.3 23,958 18.8 49,512 20.0
The age-specific prevalence (%) of cigarette smoking (not age-standardised)
Year 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+
Number % Number % Number % Number %
1981 15,903 29.6 24,360 33.5 17,424 31.2 5,307 16.6
1996 12,036 24.8 23,766 26.2 11,877 20.1 3,849 9.7
2006 11,070 22.4 21,798 23.4 13,530 17.6 3,114 7.2
The age-standardised prevalence (%) of cigarette smoking by ethnicity 2006
Sex European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Male 18,123 21.1 3,006 35.7 879 30.7 1,947 20.3 3,309 17.6 25,566 21.3
Female 18,852 19.8 3,411 40.2 735 24.5 624 5.1 2,691 15.9 23,958 18.7
Total 36,969 20.4 6,420 37.9 1,608 27.6 2,580 11.9 5,985 16.8 49,512 20.0
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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 101 109 105 4,263 4,604 8,867
2002 103 112 107 4,204 4,720 8,924
2003 109 111 110 4,544 4,654 9,198
2004 101 114 107 4,333 4,836 9,169
2005 104 115 110 4,407 4,921 9,328
2006 109 110 109 4,691 4,636 9,327
2007 105 110 107 4,801 4,764 9,565
2008 105 112 108 4,672 5,108 9,780
Early childhood attendance by Year 1 students, by ethnic group
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
2000 3,366 97.7 371 96.4 126 86.9 121 87.1 34 91.9 4,021 96.8
2001 3,201 97.7 397 94.3 121 93.1 148 88.6 31 83.8 3,906 96.6
2002 3,275 98.3 429 95.1 122 91.7 156 94.0 47 88.7 4,046 97.4
2003 3,202 98.7 489 97.6 145 95.4 228 94.6 62 96.9 4,147 98.1
2004 3,162 98.5 480 96.0 152 96.2 196 94.7 66 93.0 4,084 97.8
2005 3,265 98.8 510 96.4 163 94.2 247 98.4 78 92.9 4,285 98.2
2006 3,166 98.9 526 98.0 161 94.7 223 97.8 62 91.2 4,138 98.4
2007 2,941 99.1 516 97.5 166 93.3 218 98.2 105 95.5 3,946 98.5
2008 2,960 99.3 533 97.6 189 94.0 250 97.3 100 97.1 4,032 98.6

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 54.7 63.1 2,744 58.9 30.5 39.2 1,626 34.9
2006 62.4 70.7 2,860 66.5 37.0 47.7 1,821 42.4
2007 65.9 75.8 3,265 70.7 37.0 50.4 2,010 43.5
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 2,214 61.9 132 28.3 65 42.5 272 77.7 61 54.0 2,744 58.9
2006 2,290 69.8 156 36.3 69 40.1 303 86.1 42 68.9 2,860 66.5
2007 2,576 73.1 213 48.1 97 58.8 329 80.2 50 66.7 3,265 70.7
Bursary or higher
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
2005 1,331 37.2 54 11.6 20 13.1 195 55.7 26 23.0 1,626 34.9
2006 1,456 44.4 61 14.2 30 17.4 249 70.7 25 41.0 1,821 42.4
2007 1,599 45.4 97 21.9 34 20.6 255 62.2 25 33.3 2,010 43.5

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 37,551 83.6 28,143 76.0 65,697 80.2
Female 42,432 86.8 28,539 72.7 70,971 80.5
Total 79,983 85.2 56,682 74.3 136,665 80.3
At least tertiary
Male 10,221 22.7 6,681 18.0 16,908 20.6
Female 12,999 26.6 6,093 15.5 19,092 21.7
Total 23,223 24.7 12,774 16.7 36,000 21.2
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 75,526 60.6 1,905 41.7 618 41.6 1,122 67.0 159 79.1 78,742 59.8
1991 87,213 66.6 2,868 50.7 969 50.0 1,794 63.9 198 80.5 92,103 65.6
1996 94,490 66.8 4,656 52.5 1,065 41.5 2,916 52.7 450 68.2 100,616 65.1
2001 106,244 76.7 5,169 61.8 1,773 68.2 6,479 88.3 741 89.2 117,318 76.4
2006 120,294 80.6 6,639 65.6 2,223 67.4 10,866 89.7 1,173 89.1 136,665 80.3
At least tertiary
1986 10,161 8.2 108 2.4 36 2.4 366 21.9 57 28.4 10,654 8.1
1991 12,358 9.4 201 3.6 39 2.0 615 21.9 45 18.3 13,122 9.4
1996 16,626 11.8 435 4.9 66 2.6 1,434 25.9 225 34.1 18,417 11.9
2001 21,191 15.3 645 7.7 153 5.9 2,007 27.4 324 39.0 23,789 15.5
2006 30,825 20.7 1,125 11.1 261 7.9 4,224 34.9 525 39.9 36,000 21.2
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Paid Work

Satisfaction with work/life balance

The proportion of employed people who are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their work-life balance, as reported in the Quality of Life Survey 2008.

Level 2008 Sex Age Total
Male Female 15 - 24 25 - 49 50 - 64 65+
Very satisfied 29.8 37.0 32.0 29.2 33.2 65.2 33.2
Satisfied 44.1 43.4 50.1 43.3 44.9 27.0 43.8
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 11.1 8.9 8.0 12.0 10.4 0.0 10.1
Dissatisfied 13.9 10.7 9.9 15.0 10.2 7.7 12.4
Very Dissatisfied 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.3 0.0 0.6

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 16,948 7,047 23,995 70.6 29.4
2003 17,945 7,579 25,524 70.3 29.7
2004 17,822 7,342 25,164 70.8 29.2
2005 17,623 7,181 24,804 71.0 29.0
2006 16,270 6,873 23,143 70.3 29.7
2007 15,975 6,611 22,586 70.7 29.3
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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 37,212 16.8 2,709 26.6 981 34.1 867 27.9 105 29.2 41,088 17.5
1991 56,856 25.1 4,659 39.5 1,713 47.9 1,536 34.0 159 36.1 63,330 26.0
1996 50,988 21.9 5,145 31.4 1,569 36.1 4,086 44.8 561 47.9 59,265 23.4
2001 44,748 19.7 4,851 29.9 1,554 33.2 5,319 45.8 657 46.7 54,330 21.6
2006 40,278 16.3 4,434 22.8 1,497 24.1 7,839 40.2 711 31.9 51,930 18.4
Population with low incomes, by age
Year 0 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+ Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 10,527 21.9 4,446 10.7 7,605 11.3 7,011 14.5 11,502 38.2 41,088 17.5
1991 14,316 30.3 7,605 18.7 12,555 17.0 10,941 22.6 17,913 53.7 63,330 26.0
1996 14,406 28.7 7,986 20.9 12,240 15.6 9,240 17.9 15,390 44.4 59,265 23.4
2001 14,205 27.9 7,326 21.8 11,622 15.0 8,949 15.8 12,228 36.7 54,330 21.6
2006 11,622 21.1 7,815 19.8 9,888 12.0 8,859 12.9 13,749 37.8 51,930 18.4
Population with low incomes, by sex
Year Male Female
Number % Number %
1986 17,346 15.2 23,736 19.6
1991 26,640 22.7 36,693 29.1
1996 25,269 20.6 33,993 26.0
2001 22,980 18.9 31,353 24.1
2006 23,175 17.0 28,755 19.8

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 20,067 8.1 2,943 23.2 1,452 37.1 813 21.9 87 20.3 25,149 9.3
1991 17,526 6.9 3,117 21.8 1,785 36.8 1,182 20.6 90 17.6 23,640 8.4
1996 14,455 5.5 3,662 17.9 2,223 34.6 2,138 16.9 372 26.7 21,909 7.3
2001 10,572 4.1 3,021 14.7 2,007 29.5 2,424 15.0 435 23.1 18,033 6.0
2006 11,697 4.2 3,627 15.3 2,952 33.8 3,963 15.8 534 19.3 22,092 6.7
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 3,927 10.9 2,805 12.7 8,715 17.5 6,096 7.7 3,156 5.9 447 1.4 25,149 9.3
1991 4,464 11.8 2,115 11.3 7,704 15.6 6,375 7.4 2,526 4.7 453 1.3 23,640 8.4
1996 4,946 12.2 2,013 10.6 5,956 12.0 6,280 6.8 2,270 3.8 444 1.2 21,909 7.3
2001 3,897 9.7 1,986 9.5 4,566 10.2 5,007 5.4 2,136 3.2 447 1.2 18,033 6.0
2006 4,479 10.7 2,271 10.2 6,066 12.1 5,985 6.3 2,748 3.5 537 1.3 22,092 6.7
Household crowding, by sex
Year Male Female
Number % Number %
1986 12,633 9.6 12,519 9.0
1991 11,763 8.6 11,877 8.2
1996 10,668 7.3 11,241 7.3
2001 8,721 6.0 9,309 5.9
2006 10,848 6.8 11,247 6.6
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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 (%) 60.0 51.0 50.0 52.0 49.0 39.0 42.0

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 23 40.0 2 14.0 16 39.0 1 10.0 17 35.0 2 20.0
Women voted in 14 58.0 0 n/a 6 50.0 0 n/a 7 54.0 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 1,113 14.7 1,212 17.2 1,056 19.6 462 30.7 117 22.2 3,957 17.9
  Total population 1,530 2.5 2,007 2.6 1,545 1.7 636 1.5 183 0.4 5,913 1.9
2001 Māori 1,242 15.4 1,269 20.0 1,167 20.1 522 30.0 153 27.9 4,344 19.3
  Total population 1,704 2.7 2,082 2.9 1,746 1.8 786 1.6 261 0.6 6,594 2.0
2006 Māori 1,077 12.2 1,314 18.8 1,308 19.6 633 26.9 216 26.4 4,554 17.7
  Total population 1,374 2.1 1,920 2.5 1,875 1.8 954 1.7 321 0.7 6,450 1.9

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  (%) 31.6 31.3 80.1 79.2 64.0 65.1
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Leisure and Recreation

Satisfaction with leisure time

The proportion of people aged 15 years and over who are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their leisure time, as reported in the Quality of Life Survey 2008.

Level 2008 Sex Age Total
Male Female 15 - 24 25 - 49 50 - 64 65+
Very satisfied 30.6 36.9 34.9 23.7 31.0 63.0 33.9
Satisfied 42.5 41.0 49.1 44.1 39.1 30.2 41.7
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 19.0 14.6 11.3 22.3 20.6 3.4 16.7
Dissatisfied 6.2 6.2 3.7 8.4 7.1 2.3 6.2
Very Dissatisfied 1.7 1.2 1.0 1.4 2.2 1.1 1.5

Participation in physical activity

The proportion of the population aged 15 years and over who met physical activity guidelines (ie were physically active for at least 30 minutes a day on five or more days over the last week), as measured by the Quality of Life Survey 2008.

Level 2008 Sex Age Total
Male Female 15 - 24 25 - 49 50 - 64 65+
Physically Active 47.9 52.5 45.3 52.7 52.3 47.4 50.3
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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 2.4 87.7
2002 86.5 86.3
2003 87.4 84.9
2004 79.4 87.5
2005 89.0 86.5
2006/2007 110.9 86.1
2007/2008 110.2 85.3

Safety

Perceptions of safety - in the local neighbourhood after dark

The proportion of people who reported they felt "a bit unsafe" or "very unsafe" walking alone in their neighbourhood at night, as reported in the Quality of Life Survey 2008.

Level 2008 Sex Age Total
Male Female 15 - 24 25 - 49 50 - 64 65+
Very safe 27.0 10.1 15.2 20.3 21.8 11.3 18.2
Fairly safe 49.2 30.9 40.1 43.3 38.5 30.6 39.6
A bit unsafe 18.0 35.7 35.1 22.4 27.4 31.3 27.3
Very unsafe 4.9 20.7 9.5 13.5 9.2 21.2 13.2

Road casualties (combined areas of Banks Peninsula District and Chistchurch City)

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 973 291.1 4.8
2002 1,034 303.8 5.0
2003 995 286.7 4.3
2004 895 254.0 3.1
2005 1,000 280.8 4.2
2006 1,157 321.0 2.8
2007 1,365 373.3 3.6
2008 1,271 344.4 4.3
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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 97.9 90.8 83.7 97.9 96.3 96.9 97.6 96.3 96.8 97.1 98.0 98.6 97.2
2001 98.3 92.5 89.9 97.9 97.1 97.5 98.1 97.3 97.3 97.5 98.4 98.7 97.8
2006 99.1 96.8 96.5 98.7 98.9 98.7 99.0 98.9 98.6 98.8 98.9 99.2 98.8
Internet access (%)
Year Ethnicity Sex Age Total
European Māori Pacific Asian Other Male Female 0 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+
2001 45.4 31.9 21.0 65.0 55.3 47.5 43.9 51.7 51.3 49.9 47.6 15.0 45.6
2006 70.6 56.1 41.8 79.5 75.3 71.3 68.8 76.5 73.7 74.8 73.3 37.8 70.0

Trust in others

The proportion of the population aged 15 years and over reporting that people can "almost always" or "usually" be trusted, as reported in the Quality of Life Survey 2008.

Level 2008 Sex Age Total
Male Female 15 - 24 25 - 49 50 - 64 65+
People can almost always be trusted 17.0 16.9 21.4 15.1 13.6 21.0 17.0
People can usually be trusted 66.2 61.9 55.7 68.0 67.4 58.4 64.0
You usually can't be too careful in dealing with people 12.8 15.4 18.4 12.8 13.6 13.7 14.2
You almost always can't be too careful in dealing with people 3.9 5.8 4.5 4.1 5.4 6.9 4.9

Proportion of the population experiencing loneliness

The proportion of the population aged 15 years and over who reported feeling lonely "sometimes", "most of the time" or "always" during the previous 12 months, as reported in the Quality of Life Survey 2008.

Level 2008 Sex Age Total
Male Female 15 - 24 25 - 49 50 - 64 65+
Never 55.9 53.9 38.8 53.5 61.7 68.5 54.9
Rarely 30.8 32.5 47.4 31.1 28.7 19.3 31.7
Sometimes 12.8 12.9 13.8 14.5 8.7 12.3 12.8
Most of the time 0.4 0.7 0.0 0.9 0.9 0.0 0.6
Always 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
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