The census household count of New Zealand is a count of all households in New Zealand where at least one person is present at the usual address of the household on a given census night. Households whose members are all away temporarily elsewhere in New Zealand and/or temporarily overseas on census night are excluded, unless there is someone at their usual residence (for example, a visitor) to identify them. In census statistics, a household consists of one person usually residing alone, or two or more people usually residing together in a private dwelling, therefore visitors are excluded.
The terms 'household', 'usual residence' and 'visitor' are defined in the section Glossary and References. Refer also to the terms 'resident' and 'resident temporarily overseas'.
The estimated households of New Zealand is an estimate of all households usually living in New Zealand at a given date. Households whose members are all away temporarily elsewhere in New Zealand and/or temporarily overseas are included. A household consists of one person usually residing alone, or two or more people usually residing together in a private dwelling, therefore visitors are excluded.
The estimated households of New Zealand at a given date after a census is derived by updating the census household count for:
These adjustments are not derived separately, but are implicitly calculated by applying 'living arrangement type rates' to the estimated resident population, by age and sex, to give the estimated resident population in different living arrangement types. These population estimates are subsequently aggregated to give estimates of families and households.
The estimated households measure is produced once every five years (reference date at 30 June of the latest census year). It is calculated for the whole of New Zealand.
Estimated households form the base for household projections produced by Statistics New Zealand. For example, the base for 2001-base household projections is the estimated number of households at 30 June 2001.
The term 'census household count' has been so worded to:
When presenting data, standard term(s) must be used. For example, "the census household count of New Zealand at 6 March 2001 was ...". The term 'census count of households' may be used in commentary only, where it makes better grammatical sense.
The term 'estimated households' has been so worded to:
When presenting data, standard term(s) must be used. For example, "the estimated households of New Zealand at 30 June 2001 was ...". The term 'estimated number of households' may be used in commentary only, where it makes better grammatical sense.
For more information on how to use the standard terms, please refer to the Output section.