Total response output shows the counts of all responses given for each ethnic group (see Glossary and references). Output tables need to state how many ethnicities are output per person as the number of ethnic groups recorded may differ between collections.
People who reported more than one ethnic group are counted once in each group reported. This means that the total number of responses for all ethnic groups can be greater than the total number of people who stated their ethnicities.
Note: Where output is for explicit ethnic groups then the footnote should state the names of those groups. For example, “People who reported more than one ethnic group within the Pacific Peoples ethnic group are counted once in each group reported”.
The total response standard output variable categories are the same as the classification categories. The residual categories may be output separately or combined. Where a combination item of residuals is to be used in output, this item should be labelled ‘not elsewhere included’ and should have a footnote indicating its composition. ‘repeated value’ should not be used in any official output.
The residual categories are defined in Glossary and references.
The full classification is available in the 'Available files' section on the main page.
Single/combination output places each person into only one category. A full definition is given in Glossary and references.
People are counted just once according to the ethnic group or combination of ethnic groups they have reported. This means that the total number of responses equals the total number of people who stated an ethnicity.
Total response output shows the counts of all responses given for each ethnic group (see glossary). Output tables need to state how many ethnicities are output per person as the number of ethnic groups recorded may differ between collections.
Examples of single/combination outputs are given below. The amount of detail supplied in single/combination output will depend on individual surveys and collections.
Level one single/combination output can be used for large collections where there is sufficient data. This comprises 14 groups and a residual category. For sample surveys and small collections seven groups and a residual category may be used. The detailed single/combination output is for the use of population surveys, such as the census.
It is important when using single/combination output that level one total response output is also shown. This enables the counts of a level one ethnic grouping to be calculated (for example, Mäori) and is necessary because some of the combination categories do not name all of the ethnic groups contained within them. For example, ‘Four to Six Groups’ may contain people from any of the level one categories.
European OnlyMäori OnlyPacific Peoples OnlyAsian OnlyMELAA* OnlyOther Ethnicity OnlyMäori/EuropeanMäori/Pacific PeoplesPacific Peoples/EuropeanAsian/EuropeanTwo Groups Not Elsewhere IncludedMäori/Pacific Peoples/EuropeanThree Groups Not Elsewhere IncludedFour to Six GroupsNot Elsewhere Included
* MELAA refers to Middle Eastern/Latin American/African
Note: It is essential that total response counts (Grouped Total Responses) are reported with single/combination data so that the counts of each level one group are available.
European OnlyMäori OnlyPacific Peoples OnlyAsian OnlyMELAA* OnlyOther Ethnicity OnlyTwo or More GroupsNot Elsewhere Included
European OnlyMäori OnlyPacific Peoples OnlyAsian OnlyMELAA* OnlyOther Ethnicity Only
European/MäoriEuropean/Pacific PeoplesEuropean/AsianEuropean/MELAAEuropean/Other EthnicityMäori/Pacific PeoplesMäori/AsianMäori/MELAA*Mäori/Other Ethnicity
Pacific Peoples/AsianPacific Peoples/MELAAPacific Peoples/Other Ethnicity
Asian/MELAAAsian/Other Ethnicity
MELAA/Other Ethnicity
European/Mäori/Pacific PeoplesEuropean/Mäori/AsianEuropean/Mäori/MELAAEuropean/Mäori/Other EthnicityEuropean/MELAA/Other EthnicityPacific Peoples/European/AsianPacific Peoples/European/MELAAPacific Peoples/European/Other EthnicityAsian/MELAA/EuropeanAsian/European/Other Ethnicity
Mäori/Pacific Peoples/AsianMäori/Pacific Peoples/MELAAMäori/Asian/MELAAMäori/Asian/Other EthnicityMäori/MELAA/Other EthnicityPacific Peoples/Mäori/Other EthnicityPacific Peoples/MELAA/Other EthnicityAsian/Pacific Peoples/MELAAAsian/Pacific Peoples/Other EthnicityAsian/MELAA/Other Ethnicity
Residual categories for output
94 Don't Know95 Refused to Answer97 Response Unidentifiable98 Response Outside Scope99 Not Stated
The residual categories may be output separately or combined. Where a combination item of residuals is to be used in output, this item should be labelled ‘not elsewhere included’ and should have a footnote indicating its composition. ‘repeated value’ should not be used in any official output.
If three ethnicities per person are collected, any data comparisons with other collections should be made with a similar method and the same number of ethnicities per person. For example, comparing a survey and census data: if three ethnicities are collected by the survey then data collected by census must be reduced to three ethnicities per person using the same methodology before comparison takes place.
Output at level 1 and 2 may be affected if collection at level 2 fails to collect New Zealander responses with the 'other' tick box. Comparability may also be affected if people do not choose a valid tick box from the list and mark the 'other' tick box instead.
See the paper Understanding and Working with Ethnicity Data.pdf for more details. This downloadable file is in Adobe Acrobat format. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader you may download the reader to view or print the contents of this file.
A concordance that links the categories from the previous classification ETHNIC to ETHNIC05 will be available from Classifications and Standards, Statistics New Zealand.
Level 1 data is not comparable to previous level 1 data with the introduction of the level one groups, MELAA and Other Ethnicity. For time series purposes, the counts of the New Zealander category can be added to the counts of the New Zealand European category (except where people have given both New Zealander and NZ European responses). This will recreate a count for the New Zealand European category which will be comparable to those from previous data collections.
Time series of level 2 data may be affected if collection at level 2 does not produce similar data (see data comparability and questionnaire module requirements).