Social wellbeing summary
Summary table
The below summary table provides detailed information on each indicator including current levels, changes over time, demographic variation within the population, and comparisons with the OECD.
Table SU1.1 – Summary table of indicators
| Indicator | Current level of indicator (most recent year) | Changes over time | Variation within the population | Comparison with OECD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health | ||||
| Life expectancy at birth | Males had a life expectancy of 79.5 years (2012–14) Females had a life expectancy of 83.2 years (2012–14) | Increasing over time | Lower for males, Māori, people living in deprived areas | Above the OECD median for males; slightly lower than the OECD median for females |
| Health expectancy | Males had a health expectancy of 65.2 years (2013); 3.7 percent decrease relative to total life expectancy compared with 1996 Females had a health expectancy of 66.5 years (2013); 3.4 percent decrease relative to total life expectancy decrease compared with 1996 | Proportion of years lived independently relative to life expectancy lower than 1996 for both sexes | Large decrease in proportion of years lived independently relative to life expectancy for Māori males; smaller decreases for non-Māori males, Māori females and non-Māori females | No comparison available |
| Suicide | 12.1 suicide deaths per 100,000 people (age-standardised rate for all ages) (2012) | General increase between 1970s and 1990s; decrease since late 1990s | Higher for males, youth (15–24), Māori, people living in the most deprived areas | Similar to the OECD median. Highest youth suicide rate. |
| Self-rated health | 92.0 percent of population aged 15 years and over rated their health as at least good (2013/14) | Higher than previous years | Lower for older people, Māori, Pacific peoples, people living in most deprived neighbourhoods | Above the OECD median |
| Psychological distress | 6.4 percent of population aged 15 years and over had experienced psychological distress (2013/14) | Similar to previous years except 2011/12 | Higher for Pacific peoples, Māori, people living in the most deprived areas | No comparison available |
| Obesity | 28.7 percent of population aged 15 years and over were obese (2013/14) | Increase from 2006/07 but now stable | Higher for Pacific peoples, Māori, adults living in most deprived areas, younger adults | Above the OECD median |
| 10.1 percent of population aged 2–14 years were obese (2013/14) | Increase from 2006/07 but now stable | Higher for Pacific peoples, Māori, children living in most deprived areas, older children | No comparison available | |
| Cigarette smoking | 18.5 percent of population aged 15 years and over were current smokers (2013/14) | Gradual decline | Higher for males, people under 55 years, Māori, people living in most deprived areas | Below the OECD median for daily smokers |
| Potentially hazardous drinking | 18.1 percent of population aged 15 years and over were potentially hazardous drinkers (2013/14) | Fluctuates but slightly lower than 2006/07 | Higher for males, younger age groups, Māori, people living in most deprived areas | Below the OECD median for alcohol consumption (litres per person) |
| Participation in physical activity | 51.8 percent of population aged 15 years and over met the physical activity guidelines (2013/14) | Similar to previous years but lower than 2006/07 | Lower for females, Pacific peoples, those in the Asian ethnic group, people aged 75 years and over, people living in most deprived areas | No comparison available |
| Knowledge and skills | ||||
| Participation in early childhood education | 95.9 percent of children starting school had attended early childhood education (2014) | Steady improvements since 2000 | Lower for Māori, Pacific peoples, those attending lower-decile schools | Above the OECD median for 3–4 year old enrolment rates |
| School leavers with higher qualifications | 77.1 percent of school leavers left school with a qualification at NCEA Level 2 or above (2014) | Sustained improvements since 2009 | Lower for males, Māori, Pacific peoples, younger school leavers, those at low-decile schools | No comparison available |
| Participation in tertiary education | 10.2 percent participated in tertiary education (age standardised rate) (2014) | Declining mainly as a result of declines in participation in lower-level non-degree qualifications | Lower rates for males; higher rates for Māori largely as a result of participation in non-degree qualifications | Above the OECD median for those aged 20–29 (enrolment rate) |
| Educational attainment of the adult population | 74.3 percent those aged 25–64 years had a qualification of at least NCEA L2 (year ended December 2014) | Generally increasing | Lower for Māori, Pacific peoples, older age groups | Below the OECD median for upper secondary qualifications |
| 29.8 percent of those aged 25–64 years had a qualification of Bachelor's degree or higher (year ended December 2014) | Generally increasing | Lower for Māori, Pacific peoples, older age groups | Similar to the OECD median for Bachelor's degree and above | |
| Adult literacy and numeracy skills | 56 percent of 16–65 year olds had higher prose literacy skills (Level 3+) (2006) | Improved between 1996 and 2006 | Lower for youngest and oldest age groups, ethnic groups other than New Zealand European | No comparison available |
| 57 percent had higher document literacy skills (2006) | Improved between 1996 and 2006 | Lower for youngest and oldest age groups, ethnic groups other than New Zealand European | No comparison available | |
| 49 percent had higher numeracy skills (2006) | No trend data for numeracy | No comparison available | ||
| Paid work | ||||
| Unemployment | 5.8 percent of the labour force were unemployed (year ended December 2014) | Recent improvements but rate remains higher than 2007 | Higher for youth, women, Māori, Pacific peoples | Below the OECD harmonised median unemployment rate |
| Employment | 74.2 percent of the labour force were employed (year ended December 2014) | Recent improvements but rates remain lower than 2007 | Lower for youth, females, Māori, Pacific peoples; and big variations between males and females in terms of full-time and part-time employment | Above the OECD median |
| Median hourly earnings | Wage and salary earners: $21.97 an hour ($23.00 for males and $20.74 for females) (June 2014 quarter) | Improved over the last 10 years but slower growth over the last five years | Lower for Pacific peoples, youth, females | No comparison available |
| Work-related injury | 16.2 injuries per 100,000 workers (age-standardised provisional rate for non-fatal serious injury) (2014) | Improved over the last 10 years but more stable over the last five years | Higher for males, Māori | No comparison available |
| Job satisfaction | 84.0 percent of employed people were very satisfied or satisfied with their job (2014) | Apparent increase over the four survey periods available (2008–14) | Lower for those with lower personal incomes and material wellbeing | Slightly lower than the OECD median |
| Satisfaction with work-life balance | 78.0 percent of employed people age 15 years and over were very satisfied or satisfied with their work-life balance (2012) | Improved slightly between 2008 and 2012 | Lower for those aged 35–54 years, full-time workers | Well above the OECD median for working long hours |
| Economic standard of living | ||||
| Market income per person | Real gross national disposable income (RGNDI) per person was $47,784 in 2009/10 dollars (year ended December 2014) | General increase from the 1990’s until 2007 before declining until 2009 and then improving | Not relevant | Below the OECD median for per person gross national income (GNI) |
| Income inequality | The equivalised disposable income of households at the 80th percentile was 2.8 times higher than the income of households at the 20th percentile (2014) | Significant increase from the 1980s through to 2004, followed by a period of decline then apparent increases but some volatility from 2009 | Not relevant | Above the OECD median using the Gini coefficient |
| Population with low incomes | 13 percent of the population lived in households with incomes below 50 percent of the 2007 median, after adjusting for housing cost (2014) | Improved significantly from 1994 through to 2007, but a flat result since then, although significantly higher than in 1982 | Higher rates for those aged under 25 years living in households, sole-parent households | Same as the OECD median for the total population |
| Material hardship | 8 percent of people lived in households with less severe hardship 5 percent lived in households with more severe hardship (2014) | Increased from 2007 through to 2011, but has since declined | Higher for children, Pacific peoples, sole-parent households | No comparison available |
| Housing affordability | 27 percent of households spent more than 30 percent of their disposable income on housing costs (2014) | Increased from 1988 to 1998 then improved to 2004, before again rising in 2007 then flattening out (has worsened for low-income households) | Higher proportions for sole-parent households, low-income households, the Other ethnic group, Pacific peoples and younger age groups | No comparison available |
| Household crowding | 10 percent of individuals lived in households requiring one or more bedrooms (2013) | Improved overall since 1986, but flatter results since 2001 | Higher for Pacific peoples, people in multi-family and sole-parent households, younger people and those renting and with lower incomes | No comparison available |
| Civil and political rights | ||||
| Voter turnout (general elections) | 72 percent of the eligible population voted (2014) | General decline over time | Less likely for younger people, people in the Asian ethnic group, unemployed, people with lower personal incomes | Above the OECD median for general elections |
| Voter turnout (local authority elections) | 41 percent of enrolled electors voted for mayoral elections (2013) | General decline over time | Not relevant | No comparison available |
| Representation of women in government (general elections) | 31 percent of elected MPs were women (2014) | Relatively stable since 1996 | Not relevant | Slightly above the OECD median |
| Representation of women in government (local authority elections) | 33 percent of elected members were women (2013) | Improved between 1989 and 1998, but steady since then | Not relevant | No comparison available |
| Representation of ethnic groups in government | 32 percent of elected MPs self-identified as being of Māori, Pacific peoples or Asian ethnicity (2014) | Continued improvement since 1984 | Asian peoples under-represented | No comparison available |
| Perceived discrimination | 17.1 percent of the population aged 15 years and over reported that they had been discriminated against in the past 12 months (2014) | Not relevant | More likely for females, younger age groups, Māori, the Asian ethnic group, unemployed, people with lower personal incomes, sole-parent families, people with lower material wellbeing | No comparison available |
| Acceptance of diversity | 42.1 percent of the population aged 15 years and over reported that they would feel comfortable or very comfortable if they had a new neighbour who was from all of the five selected minority groups listed in the NZGSS | Not relevant | Less likely for older people, Pacific peoples, Asian ethnic group | No comparison available |
| Perceived corruption | Score of 91 and ranked 2nd (2014) | Little change. New Zealand has always ranked in the top four countries | Not relevant | Well above OECD median |
| Cultural identity | ||||
| Local content programming on New Zealand television | 36 percent of the prime-time schedule was local content (2014) | General decline since 2006 | Not relevant | No comparison available |
| Māori language speakers | 21.3 percent of Māori reported that they could hold an everyday conversation in Māori (2013) | General decline over time | Speakers less likely to be younger | No comparison available |
| Language retention | Varied from 13.0 percent of Cook Islands Māori to 85.9 percent of Koreans who could speak the “first language” of their ethnic group (2013) | Looks likely that it was reducing for most ethnic groups between 2001 and 2013 | Less likely for Pacific and European ethnic groups | No comparison available |
| Ability to be yourself in New Zealand | 86.3 percent of the population aged 15 years and over reported that it was very easy or easy to be themselves in New Zealand (2014) | Not relevant | Harder for Pacific peoples, the Asian ethnic group, unemployed, migrants who had been in NZ less than five years, people with lower personal incomes, people with lower material wellbeing | No comparison available |
| Leisure and recreation | ||||
| Satisfaction with leisure time | 47.6 percent of the population aged 15 years and over felt they had the right amount of free time in the last four weeks (2012) | Increased only slightly between 2008 and 2012 | Lower for younger age groups, Māori, people with lower personal income, people with lower material wellbeing, employed, unemployed, people with children | No comparison available |
| Participation in cultural and arts activities | 85 percent attended an arts event in the previous 12 months (2014) | Increase on previous surveys | Lower for males, older age groups, New Zealand Europeans, those in the Asian ethnic group | No comparison available |
| 58 percent actively participated in the arts in the previous 12 months (2014) | Increase on previous surveys | Lower for males, older age groups, New Zealand Europeans, those in the Asian ethnic group | No comparison available | |
| Safety | ||||
| Criminal victimisation | 13.4 percent of the population aged 15 years and over reported having a crime committed against them in the last 12 months (2014) | Decrease over time | More likely for younger age groups, Māori, people with lower material wellbeing, unemployed, sole-parent families | No comparison available |
| Fear of crime | 60.9 percent of population aged 15 years and over felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark (2014) | Not relevant | Feelings of safety lower for females, people with lower material wellbeing, people with low personal incomes, unemployed, people not in the labour force, sole-parent families | Below the OECD median |
| Assault mortality | 1.3 deaths by assault per 100,000 population (all ages) (2012) | Improved since early 1990s | Higher among males, youth, Māori | Above the OECD median |
| Road casualties | 6.5 road deaths per 100,000 population (2014) | Improved | Higher for males, young people, Māori | Slightly above the OECD average for transport accident mortality rates |
| 248.8 road injuries per 100,000 population (2014) | General improvement | |||
| Social connectedness | ||||
| Telephone and internet access in the household | 98.1 percent lived in households with access to a landline and/or cellphone (2013) | Steady | No large variations | No comparison available |
| 82.0 percent lived in households with access to internet (2013) | Large improvement | Less likely among Māori and Pacific households, sole-parent households, older people | ||
| Contact with family | 74.6 percent of the population aged 15 years and over said the amount of contact they had with family who didn't live with them was about right (2012) | Little change over time | Less likely for younger people, Māori, people with lower material wellbeing, sole-parent families | No comparison available |
| Contact with friends | 77.3 percent of the population aged 15 years and over said the amount of contact they had with friends who didn't live with them was about right (2012) | Little change over time | Less likely for working-age people, Māori, people with lower material wellbeing, people in families with children | No comparison available |
| Contact between young people and their parents | 58 percent of students reported that they got enough time with at least one parent most of the time (2012) | Less time than in 2001, but not much change from 2007 | Less likely for Māori, Pacific peoples, people in the Asian ethnic group, female students, people in high deprivation areas | No comparison available |
| Trust in others | 68.4 percent of the population aged 15 years and over said that most people could be trusted (2014) | Not relevant | Less likely for younger age groups, Māori, Pacific peoples, unemployed, people with lower personal incomes, sole-parent families, people born in NZ | Above the OECD median |
| Loneliness | 13.9 percent of the population aged 15 years and over reported feeling lonely all, most or some of the time during the last four weeks (2014) | Not relevant | More likely for younger age groups, unemployed, people with lower personal incomes, people with lower material wellbeing, sole-parent families | No comparison available |
| Voluntary work | 30.6 percent of the population aged 15 years and over reported doing voluntary work in the past four weeks for a group or organisation (2012) | A small decrease between 2008 and 2010 | Lower for younger age groups, people with lower material wellbeing, those in the Asian ethnic group, sole-parent families, recent migrants | Above the OECD median |
| Life satisfaction | ||||
| Overall life satisfaction | 82.6 percent of the population aged 15 years and over rated their overall life satisfaction highly (2014) | Not relevant | Lower for people with lower material wellbeing, people with lower personal income, sole-parent families | Above the OECD median |
Data for this section can be found at: www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz/documents/2016/su.xlsx
