The New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS) provides information on the well-being of New Zealanders aged 15 years and over. It covers a wide range of social and economic outcomes and shows how people are faring. In particular, the survey provides a view of how well-being outcomes are distributed across different groups within the New Zealand population.
Reports and articles
- Loneliness in New Zealand: Findings from the 2010 NZ General Social Survey (April 2013)
This report uses New Zealand General Social Survey information to explore patterns of loneliness in adults aged 15 years and older in New Zealand.
- Perceptions of housing quality in 2010-11 (April 2013)
This report explores people's perceptions of the quality of their housing, as measured in the New Zealand General Social Survey. It focuses on the three main problems people reported - cold, damp and smallness, and considers a selection of factors that may influence the perceived problems.
- Vulnerable children and families: Some findings from the New Zealand General Social Survey (October 2012)
Uses data from the NZGSS to look at households with vulnerable children, using 11 economic, housing, health, and social indicators related to poor child outcomes.
- Working together: Racial discrimination in New Zealand (September 2012)
This short report uses data from the New Zealand General Social Survey to look at whether New Zealanders feel racially discriminated against. It also provides background data on overall levels of perceived discrimination and where this takes place.
- How prepared are New Zealanders for a natural disaster? (June 2012)
This report outlines preparations New Zealand households have made for a natural disaster, using information from the 2010 New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS).
- Parents supporting children who do not live with them (March 2012)
Find out about the support parents give their children aged under 18 years who don’t live with them.
- Social Cohesion in New Zealand: Facts from the NZ General Social Survey 2008 (June 2011)
A snapshot of people’s sense of belonging to New Zealand, their ability to express their own identity, and their experience of discrimination and tolerance of diversity.
- New Zealand households unprepared for natural disasters – Media release (4 March 2010)
- New Zealand General Social Survey: 2008 Fact Sheet: Natural disaster preparation at home (March 2010)
Facts from the New Zealand General Social Survey 2008 about what preparations households had made for a natural disaster.
- Volunteering Fact Sheet: New Zealand General Social Survey (October 2009)
Facts about people’s voluntary or unpaid work, and the relationship between social and economic factors; from the New Zealand General Social Survey 2008.
Accessing the NZGSS data
A Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF) of the NZGSS is available for research. CURFs are available to all researchers at minimal cost and free to universities. CURFs come in SAS format, but can be modified by the user to work with other applications, eg SPSS. The NZGSS CURF is proving popular because it is very similar to the original dataset.
NZ.Stat tables are available for a range of topics using data from the 2010 New Zealand General Social Survey.
Information about the data
New Zealand General Social Survey Data Dictionary
Descriptions of the variables in the New Zealand General Social Survey 2010 and 2008 original and CURF datasets.
Related information
Objectives of the 2014 New Zealand General Social Survey’s social networks and support rotating module
This paper discusses the aims of the social networks and support module in the 2014 New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS). Feedback is invited until 28 September 2012.
The future approach to the New Zealand Social Survey – A consultation paper
We're updating the New Zealand General Social Survey. Find out about the changes we're planning. We took comments on this paper until 31 July.
New Zealand General Social Survey 2010 questionnaire
Printed example of the NZ General Social Survey 2010 questions that were asked as electronic questionnaire.
New Zealand General Social Survey 2008 questionnaire
Printed example of the NZ General Social Survey 2008 questions that were asked as electronic questionnaire.
External websites
Australian General Social Survey 2010 (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
Canadian General Social Survey (Statistics Canada)
General Lifestyle Survey (Office for National Statistics, UK)
The Social Report 2009 (Ministry of Social Development)
New Zealand Health Survey (Ministry of Health)
Quality of Life 2010
Information and help
If you have any queries, please contact the Social and Cultural Statistics unit.
Email: social.cultural.statistics@stats.govt.nz
Phone: (04) 931-4600
Key search words
Well-being, social well-being, quality of life, life satisfaction, social statistics, general social survey, social survey, social indicators, New Zealand social statistics, CURF, attitudes, happiness, New Zealanders well-being, social disadvantage, support across households, social connectedness, social isolation, civic participation, unpaid work, volunteering, social societal values, discrimination, diversity, tolerance of diversity, family types, contact with family, contact with friends, emergency preparedness, recycling, housing satisfaction, housing quality, health, self-assessed health, SF12, mental health, young adults, life stage, older persons, elderly, youth, multiple disadvantage, education level, highest qualification, labour force status, poverty, income, migrants, migrant status, sense of belonging, social outcomes, economic outcomes.