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Wellington City

This section provides people and indicator data for Wellington City.

Download Wellington City data in Excel format - 113kb

People data for Wellington 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 Wellington 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 Wellington 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 24,303 17.6 3,705 27.8 2,742 30.7 4,518 19.8 900 24.4 31,773 17.7
15 - 24 23,016 16.7 2,805 21.0 1,650 18.5 5,151 22.5 744 20.2 31,680 17.7
25 - 44 47,586 34.5 4,572 34.3 2,820 31.6 8,055 35.2 1,362 36.9 62,733 35.0
45 - 64 30,291 22.0 1,920 14.4 1,362 15.3 3,921 17.2 549 14.9 38,244 21.3
65 - 74 6,615 4.8 249 1.9 276 3.1 837 3.7 81 2.2 8,232 4.6
75+ 6,015 4.4 75 0.6 87 1.0 369 1.6 54 1.5 6,804 3.8
Total 137,823 100.0 13,335 100.0 8,931 100.0 22,854 100.0 3,687 100.0 179,463 100.0
Ethnic % in the area 79.7 7.7 5.2 13.2 2.1 107.9
Sex
Male 66,639 48.4 6,468 48.5 4,377 49.0 10,788 47.2 1,878 50.9 86,931 48.4
Female 71,184 51.6 6,867 51.5 4,554 51.0 12,066 52.8 1,809 49.1 92,532 51.6
    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 163,400  -  - 2,362 923 1,439
1997 166,000 2,600 1.6 2,275 929 1,346
1998 167,400 1,400 0.8 2,293 852 1,441
1999 168,600 1,200 0.7 2,410 901 1,509
2000 169,500 900 0.5 2,447 877 1,570
2001 171,100 1,600 0.9 2,374 856 1,518
2002 174,400 3,300 1.9 2,347 879 1,468
2003 178,800 4,400 2.5 2,523 897 1,626
2004 182,100 3,300 1.8 2,455 879 1,576
2005 184,500 2,400 1.3 2,436 833 1,603
2006 187,700 3,200 1.7 2,566 813 1,753
2007 190,500 2,800 1.5 2,618 857 1,761
2008 192,800 2,300 1.2 2,643 896 1,747

Projected population change

Variant Population at 30 June Change 2006 - 2031
2006 2011 2016 2021 2026 2031 Number %
High   201,500 215,100 228,400 241,100 253,200 65,600 35.0
Medium 187,700 197,400 206,800 215,700 224,100 231,700 44,000 23.0
Low   193,200 198,400 203,200 207,300 210,600 22,900 12.0

Household composition

Household composition 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Couples with children 17,481 32.6 16,926 30.7 17,151 30.0 16,911 28.0 18,552 27.9
Couples without children 12,222 22.8 13,227 24.0 14,862 26.0 15,576 25.8 17,655 26.5
Multi-family 468 0.9 648 1.2 1,041 1.8 921 1.5 1,215 1.8
One parent family 4,311 8.0 4,767 8.6 5,040 8.8 5,475 9.1 5,799 8.7
One person 12,900 24.1 13,224 24.0 13,494 23.6 15,510 25.6 16,680 25.1
Other multi-person 6,204 11.6 6,318 11.5 5,661 9.9 6,075 10.0 6,642 10.0
Total 53,589 100.0 55,110 100.0 57,252 100.0 60,468 100.0 66,546 100.0
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Indicator data for Wellington 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) 75.4 81.2 78.0 82.5 80.1 83.7

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 18,627 33.0 16,785 29.3 35,415 31.1
1996 12,111 20.5 11,637 18.5 23,751 19.5
2006 11,325 16.9 9,828 13.6 21,147 15.2
The age-specific prevalence (%) of cigarette smoking (not age-standardised)
Year 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+
Number % Number % Number % Number %
1981 10,149 33.2 14,022 32.9 8,691 32.1 2,553 19.2
1996 5,400 22.0 11,787 21.6 5,196 18.6 1,368 10.9
2006 5,028 17.2 10,050 17.2 5,067 14.2 1,002 7.3
The age-standardised prevalence (%) of cigarette smoking by ethnicity 2006
Sex European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Male 7,266 15.9 1,254 27.0 897 30.3 1,308 15.3 1,446 15.4 11,325 16.9
Female 7,077 14.0 1,626 32.1 756 23.1 492 4.7 1,071 12.3 9,828 13.6
Total 14,355 14.9 2,877 29.8 1,662 26.9 1,791 9.5 2,514 13.8 21,147 15.2
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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 104 100 102 2,223 2,082 4,305
2002 104 101 103 2,235 2,131 4,366
2003 102 101 101 2,351 2,218 4,569
2004 96 103 99 2,267 2,381 4,648
2005 106 97 101 2,301 2,251 4,552
2006 109 106 107 2,436 2,254 4,690
2007 110 108 109 2,527 2,422 4,949
2008 109 108 109 2,553 2,446 4,999
Early childhood attendance by Year 1 students, by ethnic group
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
2000 1,358 97.6 181 93.3 145 87.3 213 96.4 23 71.9 1,921 95.8
2001 1,308 97.6 173 93.5 139 88.0 196 92.9 37 80.4 1,855 95.5
2002 1,322 98.1 192 93.7 130 81.3 209 95.0 37 69.8 1,894 95.2
2003 1,333 98.2 203 95.8 155 98.1 228 95.4 52 91.2 1,972 97.4
2004 1,348 98.9 211 96.8 141 91.6 256 97.3 47 82.5 2,004 97.4
2005 1,401 98.5 227 97.0 137 93.2 247 98.0 54 88.5 2,068 97.6
2006 1,270 99.4 216 95.2 151 95.6 271 97.8 59 89.4 1,967 98.1
2007 1,333 98.7 215 98.6 136 91.9 262 97.4 75 92.6 2,021 97.8
2008 1,320 99.4 217 96.4 137 95.8 292 96.4 80 95.2 2,046 98.2

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 70.2 76.4 1,730 73.3 41.0 51.8 1,095 46.4
2006 72.7 77.6 1,730 75.2 43.2 53.6 1,115 48.5
2007 76.9 84.9 1,890 80.9 46.1 58.7 1,225 52.5
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 1,270 78.0 118 49.8 96 55.5 210 85.7 36 47.4 1,730 73.3
2006 1,208 81.4 126 50.0 106 58.6 235 86.1 55 49.6 1,730 75.2
2007 1,354 83.7 144 64.6 108 68.4 235 87.7 49 71.0 1,890 80.9
Bursary or higher
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
2005 831 51.0 56 23.6 40 23.1 151 61.6 17 22.4 1,095 46.4
2006 833 56.1 52 20.6 35 19.3 169 61.9 26 23.4 1,115 48.5
2007 943 58.3 55 24.7 33 20.9 177 66.0 17 24.6 1,225 52.5

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 26,784 93.6 15,330 87.0 42,117 91.1
Female 29,082 94.8 15,474 84.9 44,556 91.1
Total 55,866 94.2 30,810 86.0 86,676 91.1
At least tertiary
Male 12,858 44.9 6,747 38.3 19,608 42.4
Female 15,177 49.5 6,021 33.0 21,198 43.3
Total 28,038 47.3 12,768 35.6 40,806 42.9
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 48,206 77.3 1,824 50.3 1,110 43.9 2,328 67.5 177 80.8 52,924 74.3
1991 51,593 81.5 2,334 58.5 1,512 52.7 4,497 72.8 345 76.2 59,316 78.4
1996 57,616 82.0 3,543 64.0 1,788 50.3 4,857 64.1 537 54.1 65,601 77.7
2001 63,802 90.9 3,942 74.6 2,439 75.4 7,326 87.8 957 81.4 75,676 89.0
2006 71,238 93.0 4,926 79.9 2,925 77.6 10,308 90.2 1,356 77.1 86,676 91.1
At least tertiary
1986 13,156 21.1 243 6.7 81 3.2 942 27.3 69 31.5 14,313 20.1
1991 16,094 25.4 396 9.9 162 5.7 2,043 33.1 135 29.8 18,572 24.6
1996 21,176 30.1 819 14.8 249 7.0 2,637 34.8 276 27.8 24,348 28.9
2001 25,511 36.4 1,167 22.1 393 12.2 3,156 37.8 339 28.8 29,621 34.8
2006 34,380 44.9 1,698 27.6 651 17.3 5,247 45.9 531 30.2 40,806 42.9
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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 25.9 28.8 26.2 25.2 33.4 40.5 27.3
Satisfied 44.5 46.7 49.6 44.7 44.3 39.2 45.6
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 14.1 12.1 12.8 13.0 14.1 9.7 13.1
Dissatisfied 14.6 9.1 7.5 15.2 7.0 10.6 11.9
Very Dissatisfied 1.0 3.3 3.9 1.8 1.2 0.0 2.1

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 5,909 2,961 8,870 66.6 33.4
2003 5,565 2,738 8,303 67.0 33.0
2004 5,426 2,619 8,045 67.4 32.6
2005 5,271 2,476 7,747 68.0 32.0
2006 5,080 2,344 7,424 68.4 31.6
2007 4,606 2,265 6,871 67.0 33.0
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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 8,538 8.1 990 13.7 771 19.0 759 13.2 63 17.2 10,833 9.0
1991 11,559 11.2 1,683 22.9 1,476 30.7 1,497 16.7 183 26.5 15,762 12.9
1996 12,177 11.2 1,881 20.2 1,509 27.5 2,223 20.3 582 37.3 17,010 13.2
2001 9,963 9.3 1,467 16.3 1,146 21.4 2,481 19.7 801 41.3 14,841 11.4
2006 9,729 8.2 1,392 13.3 993 15.9 3,837 21.1 1,011 36.2 15,858 10.7
Population with low incomes, by age
Year 0 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+ Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 2,682 11.5 1,401 6.1 2,010 5.1 1,503 6.6 3,240 28.6 10,833 9.0
1991 3,495 15.6 2,379 10.9 3,288 7.5 2,454 10.9 4,149 36.7 15,762 12.9
1996 4,107 16.7 2,934 14.9 4,077 8.5 2,553 10.3 3,342 29.9 17,010 13.2
2001 3,468 13.9 3,072 15.8 3,378 7.0 2,322 8.6 2,601 24.5 14,841 11.4
2006 3,003 11.0 4,398 18.5 3,342 6.3 2,430 7.5 2,688 22.8 15,858 10.7
Population with low incomes, by sex
Year Male Female
Number % Number %
1986 4,518 7.6 6,315 10.4
1991 6,813 11.3 8,949 14.4
1996 7,593 12.1 9,417 14.3
2001 6,711 10.6 8,133 12.2
2006 7,317 10.2 8,541 11.2

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 8,052 6.9 2,526 28.7 2,529 43.7 1,416 20.2 81 18.1 14,466 10.4
1991 6,306 5.6 2,076 23.7 2,646 40.3 2,520 22.2 261 29.9 13,722 9.7
1996 6,259 5.3 2,102 19.0 2,818 36.9 2,381 17.7 727 37.6 13,597 9.1
2001 5,016 4.2 1,641 15.3 2,484 33.3 2,544 16.2 756 31.5 12,249 8.0
2006 5,046 3.9 1,740 14.4 2,583 31.7 3,204 15.1 987 28.8 13,101 7.8
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 2,505 14.1 1,275 12.6 5,037 18.3 3,999 8.7 1,407 5.5 240 2.0 14,466 10.4
1991 2,499 13.7 1,149 13.4 4,233 16.0 4,167 8.2 1,389 5.4 288 2.4 13,722 9.7
1996 2,710 13.7 1,095 12.9 3,844 15.5 4,275 7.7 1,369 4.8 304 2.5 13,597 9.1
2001 2,280 11.5 1,071 11.4 3,375 13.7 3,771 6.8 1,446 4.6 312 2.6 12,249 8.0
2006 2,184 10.6 1,056 10.4 3,957 13.7 4,014 6.8 1,587 4.4 303 2.3 13,101 7.8
Household crowding, by sex
Year Male Female
Number % Number %
1986 7,194 10.5 7,275 10.4
1991 6,822 9.8 6,897 9.6
1996 6,580 9.1 7,017 9.2
2001 5,883 8.0 6,366 8.1
2006 6,390 7.9 6,714 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 (%) 50.0 53.0 53.0 49.0 48.0 42.0 40.0

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 16 29.0 5 36.0 14 38.0 1 14.0 14 37.0 2 18.0
Women voted in 8 42.0 1 n/a 5 36.0 1 n/a 8 57.0 1 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 606 17.5 933 22.3 837 24.7 351 41.8 93 43.1 2,817 23.3
  Total population 771 2.6 1,368 3.1 1,158 2.2 465 2.4 132 1.0 3,903 2.5
2001 Māori 570 16.6 951 24.8 801 23.4 342 35.4 120 52.6 2,793 23.5
  Total population 753 2.5 1,464 3.5 1,194 2.2 504 2.2 174 1.2 4,086 2.5
2006 Māori 540 14.6 822 19.9 885 22.2 360 30.4 150 45.9 2,763 20.7
  Total population 636 2.0 1,212 2.5 1,293 2.2 573 2.2 228 1.5 3,939 2.2

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  (%) 39.8 37.8 79.8 77.7 61.9 61.2
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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 29.5 30.0 34.2 21.1 36.2 53.1 29.8
Satisfied 43.0 43.1 43.1 47.4 36.5 32.4 43.0
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 17.5 18.0 15.3 20.4 17.2 10.9 17.8
Dissatisfied 9.6 6.4 5.2 9.9 8.2 3.7 7.9
Very Dissatisfied 0.4 2.4 2.3 1.2 2.0 0.0 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 51.1 44.4 47.7 45.9 51.3 49.9 47.6
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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 82.9 82.9
2002 94.7 94.7
2003 58.2 92.4
2004 90.7 90.7
2005 89.6 89.5
2006/2007 86.7 86.7
2007/2008 85.7 85.6

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 42.4 17.4 34.3 26.5 33.8 26.0 29.4
Fairly safe 47.7 49.0 41.5 53.3 46.2 42.0 48.4
A bit unsafe 7.2 25.9 21.1 15.0 13.0 25.0 17.0
Very unsafe 2.2 6.6 3.2 4.8 7.0 1.8 4.5

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 388 230.4 3.6
2002 383 219.4 2.3
2003 372 207.7 4.5
2004 396 216.9 0.5
2005 445 240.4 2.2
2006 483 256.4 3.7
2007 612 321.3 1.0
2008 660 342.3 3.1
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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 98.7 93.1 87.8 98.0 96.3 97.4 98.2 97.3 97.7 98.0 98.0 97.8 97.8
2001 99.1 95.3 93.8 98.5 98.4 98.3 98.7 98.5 98.2 98.6 98.6 98.4 98.5
2006 99.3 97.5 97.5 98.7 98.2 98.8 99.2 99.4 98.2 99.1 99.1 99.0 99.0
Internet access (%)
Year Ethnicity Sex Age Total
European Māori Pacific Asian Other Male Female 0 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+
2001 61.5 43.9 31.8 65.1 49.0 61.5 57.9 66.0 62.4 61.1 61.8 26.4 59.6
2006 80.5 66.2 52.4 80.0 63.8 79.1 77.0 84.2 77.7 80.0 80.4 49.0 78.0

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 16.5 15.3 12.9 17.3 14.1 18.7 15.9
People can usually be trusted 70.4 71.6 65.1 73.1 78.0 61.3 71.0
You usually can't be too careful in dealing with people 10.5 9.0 15.3 8.0 5.0 14.5 9.7
You almost always can't be too careful in dealing with people 2.5 4.1 6.7 1.6 2.9 5.5 3.3

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 60.6 46.9 37.4 54.3 58.8 74.5 53.5
Rarely 27.6 33.6 44.0 28.5 28.1 18.2 30.8
Sometimes 11.0 17.9 18.6 15.2 12.1 7.3 14.6
Most of the time 0.4 1.5 0.0 1.6 1.0 0.0 1.0
Always 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.2
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