Families
A family is defined as a couple with or without child(ren), or one parent and their child(ren), living in the same household.
- In 2001, Fijian people were more likely to live in a family situation (77 percent) than the New Zealand population (75 percent).
- A two-parent family with children remains the most common family type for Fijian people. Of those living in a family in 2001, 62 percent were in a two-parent family – a drop of 6 percentage points since 1991. The comparable figures for the Pacific and New Zealand populations in 2001 were 65 percent and 57 percent respectively.
- A quarter (25 percent) of Fijian people living in a family were in a one-parent family – 7 percentage points higher than in 1991. By comparison, 28 percent of the Pacific population and 17 percent of the New Zealand population were living in a one-parent family in 2001.
- The proportion of Fijian people living as a couple without children remained steady at 13 percent (of those living in families) between 1991 and 2001. The equivalent proportions for the Pacific and New Zealand populations in 2001 were 8 percent and 26 percent respectively. The older age structure of the New Zealand population is a contributing factor to this difference.
- The proportion of dependent Fijian children living in two-parent families decreased from 76 percent in 1991 to 67 percent in 2001. Over the same period, the proportion of dependent Fijian children living in one-parent families rose from 24 percent to 33 percent.
- In 2001, 17 percent of Fijian people were living in extended family situations – down from 21 percent in 1996. By comparison, 29 percent of the Pacific population and 8 percent of the New Zealand population were living in extended families in 2001.
- The average (mean) size of families with at least one Fijian member decreased marginally from 3.5 in 1991 to 3.4 in 2001. The average family sizes for the Pacific and New Zealand populations in 2001 were 3.7 and 3.0, respectively.
Households
A household is defined as either one person who lives alone or two or more people who usually reside together and share facilities such as eating, cooking and bathroom facilities.
- As figure 4.2 shows, 83 percent of Fijian people were living in one-family households in 2001 – almost unchanged from 1991 (84 percent).
- Following the national trend, the proportion of Fijian people living in households with two or more families rose in the first part of the decade from 8 percent in 1991 to 11 percent in 1996, before declining slightly to 9 percent in 2001. The
equivalent proportions of the Pacific and New Zealand populations living in households with two or more families in 2001 were 20 percent and 5 percent respectively.
- In 2001, New Zealand-born Fijians were as likely as overseas-born Fijians to live in households with two or more families (9 percent compared with 8 percent).
- Approximately 3 percent of Fijian people were living in one-person households in 2001 – the same proportion as the Pacific population overall. The equivalent figure for the New Zealand population was 9 percent.
- In the decade to 2001, the average (mean) size of households with at least one Fijian member remained steady at 3.6. The average household size for the New Zealand population in 2001 was 2.7.