Important Information | National Trend | Regional Trend | Territorial Authority Trend
Ethnic Group Tables
This analysis explores the ethnic diversity of owner-occupied households to give an indication of the suitability of current housing stock.
National Trend
In 2001, the majority of owner-occupied households had at least one person of European ethnicity, although there was a decrease from 93.7 percent (795,681 households) in 1991 to 92.2 percent (801,006 households). Conversely, there was an increase of 2.9 percentage points (25,872 households) in the proportion of owner-occupied households with at least one person of Asian ethnicity over the same period. The number of these households more than doubled over the time period but still continued to represent a very small proportion of all owner-occupied dwellings, however, at 5.5 percent (47,991 households) in 2001. These figures reflect New Zealand's increasing ethnic diversity.
As with Asian ethnicities, the number of owner-occupied households with at least one person of Mäori ethnicity increased between 1991 and 2001, from 83,871 (9.9 percent) to 94,605 (10.9 percent). Households including a person of Pacific Peoples ethnicity increased by 4,422 or 20 percent over the 10-year period.
The proportion of owner-occupied households with at least one member of Other ethnicity increased slightly from 1991 to 2001, but remained below 0.5 percent. Numerically, this group grew by over 110 percent, second only to the households with at least one person of Asian ethnicity (117 percent).
The movement in the ethnic make-up of owner-occupied households is similar to that experienced by total households. In both 1991 and 2001, households with at least one person of European ethnicity were by far the most numerous relative to any other ethnicity. Proportionally, in 1991, households with at least one person of European ethnicity accounted for 90.0 percent of all households. By 2001 this figure had decreased to 85.5 percent. Conversely, households with at least one member of any other ethnicity made up greater proportions of the total number of households in 2001 than in 1991.
Figure 1
Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings, 1991 and 2001
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Regional Trend
In 1991 and 2001, owner-occupied households with at least one member of Mäori ethnicity were most numerous in Auckland Region. However, only 8.8 percent of Auckland Region households were in this category in 2001. By comparison, 33.0 percent of all owner-occupied households in Gisborne Region had at least one member of Mäori ethnicity in 2001, the highest proportion among all regions. Northland and Bay of Plenty Regions followed with 22.9 percent and 20.2 percent respectively. Of all South Island regions, Southland Region had the highest percentage of these households, at 10.8 percent (2,736 households). In contrast, Nelson Region had the lowest proportion of owner-occupied households with at least one person of Mäori ethnicity, at 5.5 percent (576 households) in 2001, an increase on the 1991 figure of 4.0 percent (414 households). Otago and Canterbury Regions had the next lowest proportions, both at 5.7 percent. Over the 10-year period 1991 to 2001, the proportion of North Island owner-occupied households with at least one person of Mäori ethnicity remained roughly double the proportion recorded in the South Island, (12.6 percent in 1991 compared with 6.5 percent in 2001).
Regions in the north and west of the South Island recorded the highest proportions of owner-occupied households with at least one European member in 1991 and 2001. Tasman, Marlborough and West Coast Regions had the highest proportions in 2001, with 98.8 percent, 98.6 percent and 98.4 percent, respectively. In Auckland Region, these households were greatest in number but made up a relatively small proportion of the region's owner-occupied households in 1991 and 2001: 86.4 percent (204,321 households) in 2001, down from 91.3 percent in 1991 (207,780 households). Only Gisborne Region had a lower proportion of owner-occupied households with at least one member of European ethnicity in 2001, at 82.8 percent (7,515 households).
Auckland and Wellington Regions consistently had the highest proportions of owner-occupied households with at least one member of Pacific Peoples or Asian ethnicities over the 10-year period. This situation reflects the reality of the ethnic distribution in New Zealand. In 2001, 11.8 percent of owner-occupied households (28,014 households) in the Auckland Region had at least one member of Asian ethnicity and there were 15,183 households (6.4 percent) with at least one person of Pacific Peoples ethnicity. South Island regions had relatively low proportions of owner-occupied households with at least one member of Pacific Peoples ethnicity, with Southland Region having the greatest at 1.2 percent (300 households). However, for some South Island regions, households with at least one person of Asian ethnicity recorded relatively high proportions. Among all regions in 2001, Canterbury Region recorded the third highest proportion of owner-occupied households having at least one member of Asian ethnicity, at 3.7 percent (4,752 households), increasing from 1.5 percent in 1991.
There was considerable variation in home ownership rates by ethnic group in the regions. Households with at least one person of European ethnicity or one person of Asian ethnicity generally had higher ownership rates than the other ethnic groups. Tasman Region had the highest home ownership rates for households with at least one person of Pacific Peoples ethnicity, at 58.1 percent, and Gisborne Region had the lowest, at 32.9 percent (see figure 2).
Figure 2
Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings, 2001
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Territorial Authority Trend
Of all the territorial authorities in New Zealand, Christchurch City had the greatest number of owner-occupied households in 1991 and 2001. It also had the highest number of such households with at least one member of European ethnicity (76,764 in 2001, down from 77,640 in 1991) followed by Auckland City (58,071 in 2001 down from 62,013 in 1991). Rural districts of the South Island had the greatest proportions of owner-occupied households with at least one European member, however, with Ashburton District, at 99.2 percent (7,380 households), Waimate District, at 98.9 percent (2,142 households) and Tasman District, at 98.8 percent (10,914 households) in 2001. Similarly, the highest proportions of owner-occupied households with at least one member of Mäori ethnicity occurred outside the main urban centres, although at higher levels in the North Island rather than the South. In 1991 and 2001, Kawerau, Wairoa and Opotiki Districts had the highest proportions, the 2001 figures being 49.8 percent (747 households), 49.8 percent (945 households) and 48.2 percent (957 households), respectively.
Owner-occupied households with at least one member of Asian ethnicity were most numerous in the North Island, with the cities of Auckland, Manukau and North Shore having the most such households: 10,512, 7,941 and 4,503, respectively in 2001. Of the cities, Invercargill City recorded the lowest number: 195 households. Proportionally, the pattern was similar: in 2001, Manukau City had 15.6 percent and Auckland City 15.4 percent. At 10.2 percent, North Shore City had a slightly smaller proportion than Waitakere City, at 10.3 percent. In contrast, only 5.2 percent of owner-occupied households in Christchurch City had at least one member of Asian ethnicity in 2001, and Invercargill City had the lowest proportion of all New Zealand's cities, at 1.4 percent.
As with Asian ethnicities, owner-occupied households with at least one member of Pacific Peoples ethnicity were more likely to be found in the north of the country. In 1991 and 2001, Manukau, Auckland and Waitakere Cities recorded the highest numbers of such households. Figures for 2001 were 6,492, 3,933 and 2,946 households, respectively. Manukau City also recorded the highest proportion of these households in 2001, at 12.8 percent, followed closely by Porirua City, at 12.6 percent (1,116 households). Dunedin City and Nelson City had the lowest proportions of such households in 2001, at 1.2 percent (351 households) and 0.8 percent (84 households), respectively.
Figure 3
Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings, 2001
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Important Information
Owner-occupied
Unless otherwise stated, owner-occupied households include the tenure of household categories:
- Dwelling owned or partly owned by usual resident(s), who make mortgage payments
- Dwelling owned or partly owned by usual resident(s), who do not make mortgage payments
- Dwelling owned or partly owned by usual resident(s), mortgage arrangements not further defined
Ethnic Group
Ethnicity is the ethnic group or groups that people identify with or feel they belong to. Thus, ethnicity is self-perceived and people can belong to more than one ethnic group. Ethnicity is a measure of cultural affiliation, as opposed to race, ancestry, nationality or citizenship. An ethnic group is a social group whose members share a sense of common origins, claim a common and distinctive history and destiny, possess one or more dimensions of collective cultural individuality and feel a sense of unique collective solidarity.
Ethnic groups used in this analysis are:
- European
- Mäori
- Pacific Peoples
- Asian
- Other
Ethnicity is an individual variable and, therefore, cannot be directly applied to a household. This analysis uses the individual ethnicity responses of household members to compile the ethnic data for a household with at least one usual resident of a particular ethnic group. The ethnicity responses are grouped at the highest level of the classification into the five ethnic groups, European, Mäori, Asian, Pacific Peoples and Other.
A person may specify more than one ethnicity, therefore the sum of individual cells in a table may add to more than the total population or total households. A person and a household can only be counted once within an ethnic group but may be counted more than once across the ethnic groups.
The ethnic data used in this analysis has been output using up to three responses per person. If a person gave more than three responses, the three ethnic groups output are those that take the highest priority under the priority recording system. This is the same method used in 1991 and 1996. Data for 2001 can also be output with up to six responses.
Changes to the form of the ethnicity question used in the 1996 and 2001 Census have resulted in some data that is not consistent between 1991 and 1996 nor between 1996 and 2001. This applies particularly to the 'European' ethnic groups, including the 'New Zealand European' ethnic group, but also to the 'Mäori' ethnic group. Data between 1991 and 2001 may not be affected. To measure real effects of population change, comparison should be made between 1991 and 2001 census data. More information on the changes and the impact on data can be found in the document Change in Ethnicity Question.
Calculations
Percentages have been calculated using stated answers only.