Data source: Statistics New Zealand. These estimates are produced annually and are also available by age group and sex, via Table Builder. http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/subnational-pop-estimates-tables.aspx

Estimated resident population of regions, by ethnicity, at 30 June 2006

Data source: Statistics New Zealand. These estimates are produced five-yearly and are also available by age group and sex, via Table Builder. http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/pop-estimates-june.aspx

Subnational population projections are available on Statistics New Zealand’s website. These projections are updated every 2–3 years to incorporate the latest demographic information, including subnational population estimates and registered births and deaths. The most recent update was released in February 2010. It contains updated 2006-base projections of the population usually living in the 16 regional council areas (regions) and 73 territorial authority areas (cities and districts) of New Zealand. These projections are also available by age group and sex, via Table Builder.

http://www.stats.govt.nz/methods_and_services/information-releases/ subnational-population-projections.aspx

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Health

Life expectancy

Definition: 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.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand (2009) New Zealand Life Tables: 2005–07, Table 4.01 and Table 2.01. The data for regional council areas and territorial authority areas is from the abridged life tables. The data for New Zealand is from the complete life tables.

Suicide

Definition: The number of suicide deaths per 100,000 population.

Data notes: The data is age-standardised to the World Health Organization standard population and has been recoded to match regional council boundaries by the Ministry of Health.

Deaths by suicide are subject to a coroner’s inquiry and can only be officially deemed suicide once an inquest is complete. This means there can be a considerable delay in the publication of the final statistics. The figures for 2007 are provisional and subject to revision.

Suicide is a relatively rare event in statistical terms, so rates of suicide death can vary markedly from year to year, especially where populations are small. Because the number of suicides in most areas is small, the data for regional council areas has been aggregated over five years (2003–2007). The denominator is the estimated resident population at 30 June 2005, the midpoint of the 2003–2007 time period. Consistent with a recent change in practice by the Ministry of Health, the population aged under 5 years is included in the denominator.

Data source: Ministry of Health, customised data.

Cigarette smoking

Definition: The proportion of the population aged 15 years and over who currently smoke cigarettes.

Data notes: The data is age-standardised to the World Health Organization standard population.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings; age-standardised rates derived by the Ministry of Social Development.

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Knowledge and Skills

Participation in early childhood education

Definition: The percentage of new school entrants (Year 1 students) who had attended early childhood education services.

Services included are: kindergartens, playcentres, education and care services, te kōhanga reo and home-based services. The Correspondence School is not included as it covers multiple regions.

Data notes: The data does not provide information on the length of participation or on the quality of the programmes, both of which are relevant to positive educational outcomes.

Data source: Ministry of Education, Education Counts website, Student Participation, Prior participation in early childhood education: new entrants. http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/indicators/student_participation/early_childhood_education/1931

School leavers with higher qualifications

Definition: The proportion of secondary school leavers who left school with a qualification at National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2 or above.

Data notes: The data refers to the region in which the school is located, not the residential location of students. The school leaver data collection was changed as a result of the introduction of NCEA in 2002.

Data source: Ministry of Education, Education Counts website, Education and Learning, Qualifications, School leavers with NCEA Level 2 or above. http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/indicators/education_and_learning_outcomes/qualifications/1781

Educational attainment of the adult population

Definition: The proportion of adults aged 25–64 years with an educational attainment of (1) at least upper secondary school level. At least upper secondary school level includes any formal qualification at NCEA Level 1 (or its predecessor, School Certificate) or higher.

Data notes: The measure is an annual average rate for December years. Because of small sample sizes, some regions are aggregated to provide more robust data. The data has been revised for all years and will not match previously published figures.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Household Labour Force Survey, customised data.

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Paid work

Unemployment

Definition: The unemployment rate is the number of people aged 15 years and over who are not employed and who are actively seeking and available for paid work, expressed as a percentage of the total labour force, as measured by the Household Labour Force Survey. The labour force is the population aged 15 years and over who are either employed or unemployed.

The unemployed are defined in the Household Labour Force Survey as those who are without a paid job (or unpaid work in a relative’s business) and who have actively sought work in the four weeks before the survey, who are available to take work or have a new job to start within the next four weeks. “Actively seeking” includes any actions such as contacting an employer, asking friends and relatives and contacting an employment agency or Work and Income but excludes those who have only checked newspaper advertisements.

Data notes: The data is based on a sample survey and is therefore subject to sampling error. Because of small sample size, some regions are aggregated to provide more robust data. The measure is an annual average rate for December years. Figures for 1986 have been revised. Because data sourced from Infoshare is rounded, figures may differ slightly from those published by Statistics New Zealand, which are based on unrounded data.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Household Labour Force Survey, Infoshare.

Employment

Definition: The employment rate is the proportion of the population aged 15–64 years employed for at least one hour per week, as measured by the Household Labour Force Survey.

The employed are defined in the survey as those who worked for pay or profit for one hour or more in the week before the survey or who worked unpaid in a relative’s business or who have a job but did not work that week because of leave, sickness or industrial disputes.

Restricting the subject population to ages 15–64 years helps adjust for differences in age structure between populations in different regions.

Data notes: The data is based on a sample survey and is therefore subject to sampling error. Because of small sample size, some regions are aggregated to provide more robust data. The measure is an annual average rate for December years. The definition of employment includes those working one hour or more per week, so it will include some people who are likely to regard their status as closer to unemployment than to employment. For example, people who are on the unemployment benefit and who are searching for work but who work a few hours a week will be counted as employed. Figures for 1986 have been revised.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Household Labour Force Survey, customised data, rates derived by the Ministry of Social Development.

Median hourly earnings

Definition: Median hourly earnings from all wages and salaries for employees aged 15 years and over earning income from wage and salary jobs, as measured by the New Zealand Income Survey, adjusted for inflation.

The New Zealand Income Survey is an annual supplement to the Household Labour Force Survey and is carried out in the June quarter.

Data notes: The data is based on a sample survey and is therefore subject to sampling error. Because of small sample size, some regions are aggregated to provide more robust data. Hourly earnings relate to the number of hours usually worked and the usual income rather than to the number of hours actually worked and the actual income. Proxy interviewing may be used to collect data on income under certain circumstances. The data for years up to 2008 is expressed in June 2009 dollars.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand Income Survey, customised data; Consumer Price Index, All groups plus interest, Infoshare Table CPI017AA.

Work-related injury claims

Definition: The number of work-related injury claims reported to the ACC per 1,000 full-time equivalent employees (one part-time employee = 0.5 full-time employee). Full-time equivalent employee data is as estimated by Statistics New Zealand’s Household Labour Force Survey.

Data notes: Data was collected by territorial authority. The regional estimates were calculated by Statistics New Zealand by summing-up the raw data for each territorial authority. The data does not include work-related accidents where no claim was made to the ACC. Claims are included in the data under the calendar year in which the injury occurred. In some cases, there are delays between when the accident happened and when the claim was reported to ACC. Figures for the latest year are provisional. The final figures generally increase from the provisional figures as the final figures include a longer reporting period.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand (2009) Injury Statistics – Work-related Claims: 2008, Information Release.

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Economic standard of living

Population with low incomes

Definition: The proportion of people living in households with real gross income less than 60 percent of the median household equivalised national gross income benchmarked at 2001. This allows for an assessment of the number of people living in households with low incomes both at the benchmark period (2001) and in earlier or later periods.

Data notes: Households were used for this exercise rather than families because they are consistently defined over the census periods provided. Household incomes were equivalised using the Revised Jensen Equivalence Scale. This makes an allowance for the impact of household size and structure on income. Incomes for the 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2006 censuses were inflation-adjusted to provide real gross income, so accurate comparisons can be made between each census. The non-response to the census question on which the table is based was quite high, which may affect the results.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, customised census data.

Household crowding

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

Data notes: The Canadian National Occupancy standard sets the bedroom requirements of a household according to the following compositional criteria:

there should be no more than two people per bedroom
parents or couples share a bedroom
children under 5 years, either of the same or of the opposite sex, may reasonably share a bedroom
children under 18 years of the same sex may reasonably share a bedroom
a child aged 5–17 years should not share a bedroom with a child aged under 5 years of the opposite sex
single adults 18 years and over and any unpaired children require a separate bedroom.

There is no contemporary official statistic or index of household crowding in New Zealand. The Canadian Crowding Index is used here as it is sensitive to both household size and composition. The measure sets a bedroom requirement for households based on precise criteria.

The Canadian Crowding Index is not an objective index of crowding. The extent to which household members see themselves as living in crowded circumstances depends on many factors, including social and cultural expectations. Furthermore, it cannot be assumed households requiring one or more additional bedrooms (based on the Canadian index) suffer negative social outcomes.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, customised census data.

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Civil and political rights

1. Voter turnout – local authority elections

Definition: The proportion of all enrolled electors (both resident and ratepayer) who cast a vote in local authority elections for regional councils.

Data notes: To be eligible to vote, a person must be at least 18 years old and meet residential and certain other criteria. Data is for contested elections (where positions are not contested no election is held). Information on the four unitary authorities – Gisborne, Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman – is based on territorial authority election results.

Data source: Department of Internal Affairs (2009) Local Authority Election Statistics, and customised data.

2. Reported voter turnout – general elections

Definition: The percentage of people aged 15 years and over who said they had voted in the last general election.

Data notes: The survey was carried out between March 2008 and March 2009, so “the last general election” covered more than one general election.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, customised data from the 2008 New Zealand General Social Survey.

Representation of women in local government

Definition: The percentage of elected regional council members who are women.

Data notes: Information for the four unitary authorities – Gisborne, Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman – is based on territorial authority election results.

Data source: Department of Internal Affairs (2009) Local Authority Election Statistics, and customised data.

Perceived discrimination (personal)

Definition: The percentage of people aged 15 years and over who reported they had been discriminated against in some way in the past 12 months.

Data notes: This indicator measures personal experiences of discrimination.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, customised data from the 2008 New Zealand General Social Survey.

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Cultural identity

Māori language speakers

Definition: The number of Māori who reported in the five-yearly population census they could hold a conversation about everyday things in Māori, as a proportion of the Māori population

Data notes: The census data comes from a single question about conversational language ability. It relies on self-assessment rather than on a measurement of the actual level of fluency in the population.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, customised census data.

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Leisure and recreation

Participation in physical activity

Definition: The proportion of the population aged 16 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 2007/2008 Active New Zealand Survey.

Data notes: The measure used for regional councils is the 2007/2008 Active New Zealand Survey; the national social report uses the New Zealand Health Surveys. Both surveys produce similar results. Data for the regions is based on 17 Regional Sports Trust areas which align closely with regional council areas. Some regions have been aggregated to provide more robust data. However, the information is based on survey data and, because of small sample sizes at the regional level, it should be used with caution.

Data source: Sport and Recreation New Zealand’s 2007/2008 Active New Zealand Survey.

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Safety

Recorded criminal offences

Definition: The recorded criminal offence rate per 10,000 population.

Data notes: Before a crime can be recorded the matter needs to come to the attention of the police. Research on criminal victimisation indicates that many crimes are never reported to the police. Crimes most likely to be reported include those that involve insurance claims and those where injuries require medical treatment. All reports of incidents, whether from victims, witnesses or third parties, or incidents discovered by the police, and whether crime-related or not, result in a police officer registering an incident report. This data excludes traffic offences.

As well as changes in levels of criminal offending, changes in administrative practices, legal requirements and public awareness of crime can influence trends in recorded crime rates. Therefore, caution should be used when interpreting the data.

The data for this indicator is a substitute for criminal victimisation survey data, which is not available at a subnational level. Rates are presented for police districts for consistency with the data source. The data is more valid when used to compare the level of recorded crime between police districts, and less valid when used to measure trends in recorded crime.

The data is for the calendar year.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand recorded crime tables, calendar year offence statistics and estimated resident population as at 30 June for police districts. http://www.stats.govt.nz/methods_and_services/access-data/tablebuilder/recorded-crime-statistics.aspx

Road casualties

Definition: The number of people killed or injured in motor vehicle crashes per 100,000 of the population. Pedestrians or cyclists killed or injured by motor vehicles are included.

Data notes: Road casualty data comes from two main sources: injury data from the traffic crash reports completed by police officers who attend the fatal and injury crashes; and mortality and hospitalisation data from the Ministry of Health. Because the number of deaths in most areas is small, deaths and injuries have been combined into a single casualty rate.

Data source: Ministry of Transport New Zealand, customised data.

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Social connectedness

Telephone and internet access in the home

Definition: The proportion of the population with telephone access (either landline or cellphone) in the home and internet access in the home.

Data notes: This data is collected at the household level, not at the individual or family level. The circumstances of each individual or family in a household may differ.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, customised census data.

Contact with family and friends

Definition: The percentage of people aged 15 years and over who say the amount of contact they have with family and friends who don’t live with them is “about right”. Contact includes face-to-face meetings as well as telephone calls, letters, emails, texting, and other forms of electronic communication.

Data notes: The indicator combines the responses to two survey questions, the first about contact with non-resident family, the second about contact with non-resident friends: “Think about all the types of contact you have with family [friends] [who don’t live with you]. Would you say that you have too much contact, about the right amount of contact, or not enough contact with them?”

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, customised data from the 2008 New Zealand General Social Survey.

Contact between young people and their parents

Definition: The proportion of secondary school students aged 12–18 years who said they get enough time with Mum and/or Dad (or someone who acts as Mum and/or Dad), most of the time, as reported in the Youth’07 survey.

Data notes: The achieved sample size for the Youth’07 survey was 9,107 students, representing 3.4 percent of the total 2007 New Zealand secondary school roll. The survey was the second survey of this type and the data was collected between March and September 2007. Regional data was derived using students’ home addresses coded to meshblock areas.

Because of small sample size, some regions have been aggregated to provide more robust results. Estimates from sample surveys are subject to error and should be used with caution.

Data source: Adolescent Health Research Group, University of Auckland, customised data from the Youth’07 survey conducted in 2007.

Voluntary work

Definition: The proportion of the population aged 15 years and over who reported they did voluntary work for a group or organisation in the last four weeks.

Data notes: Voluntary work is defined at activities carried out for people living outside the respondent’s own household, which is done for or through an organisation or group.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, customised data from the 2008 New Zealand General Social Survey.

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Life Satisfaction

Overall life satisfaction

Definition: The proportion of the population aged 15 years and over who reported they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their life overall.

Data notes: Survey respondents were asked: “How do you feel about your life as a whole right now?” This was a single-item question asked at the beginning of the survey, ahead of and separate to the individual satisfaction questions asked for different life domains, such as education and health. Therefore, the single-item question on overall life satisfaction is not an aggregate of responses to these later questions.

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, customised data from the 2008 New Zealand General Social Survey.

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