Māori are a young and growing population, with one in three rangatahi in Aotearoa Māori, Census data released this morning has revealed.
In younger age groups there is a dominance of Māori - one in-three under 25s in New Zealand are Māori, with the overall Māori population growing at twice rate of the general New Zealand population.
Census data plays a significant role in the distribution of government money to address community needs across Aotearoa.
Last year, Local Democracy Reporting revealed a poor census turnout in South Auckland for the 2018 census could have cost the region $130 million in health funding.
And, according to an expert, that cash could have helped tackle the area’s battles with diabetes and obesity.
That significance of how the data impacts funding is front of mind for many, with the release of the coalition government’s first budget tomorrow.
The Māori population has grown from 18.5% in 2018 to 19.6% in 2023 of the general New Zealand population, new data from the 2023 census has revealed.
In younger age groups there is a dominance of Māori - one-in three under-25s in New Zealand are Māori, with the overall Māori population growing at twice the rate of the general New Zealand population.
In the Far North, that’s heightened, with 71.9 per cent of under-25s Māori, and in Ōpōtiki where 85% of under-25s are Māori.
In Gisborne, 70.4% of the population under 25 are Māori, and in Rotorua, that percentage is 60.8%.
The median Māori age remains 11 years younger than the median age of the national population - with Māori median at 27 and the national median 38.
The data heralds a 12.5% increase between 2018 and 2023.
Comparatively the national New Zealand population has increased by only 6.3% over the same period.
The data, released at 10:45am, includes the release of 2023 Census Māori descent data on the iwi-designed and operated platform, Te Whata, by Te Kāhui Raraunga and Stats NZ.
Nearly a quarter of Māori (23.3%, or 227,898) live in the Auckland region alone.
Te Kāhui Raraunga, pou ārahi Kirikowhai Mikaere labelled it a “transformative shift for the country”.
Concerted effort following abysmal 2018 numbers
The 2018 census saw a poor turnout from Māori, with a record low of only 68% of Māori filling out the forms
Stats NZ called on iwi organisations, such as Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa, which were tasked with getting out to the regions to encourage Māori to fill out the census.
Rāniera Kaio, a spokesman for the iwi-led census in the Far North, says it was important for Māori to get involved.
“Firstly, the main objective is to ensure these statistics are relevant to us, as Māori. Māori have long been uninformed about the advantages of census data.”
“So, our rūnanga in Whaingaroa led the census drive for Māori in the Far North. We aimed to ensure the census applied to our whānau.”
“We talked with whānau about what the data would mean for them and what it would mean for Māori health, housing, and infrastructure, and in that respect, I think we achieved what we set out to do.”
Historic data-share
Te Kāhui Raraunga and Stats NZ have taken a historic step in Aotearoa New Zealand’s data landscape today with the release of 2023 Census Māori descent data on the iwi-designed and operated platform, Te Whata.
This marks the first time census data has been released on a non-government-owned platform as part of a census release.
The milestone has been made possible under the Mana Ōrite Relationship agreement between the Data Iwi Leaders Group and Stats NZ.
“Sharing the release of 2023 Census data is an important step in the implementation of the Māori data governance model and highlights the positive outcomes that can be achieved through iwi-Crown partnerships. This marks a significant move forward in Māori data governance and management,” Te Kāhui Raraunga chair Rahui Papa says.
“Stats NZ has prioritised making Māori descent data available on Te Whata a part of the first release. We have worked closely with Te Kāhui Raraunga on the 2023 Census because our aim is to help iwi and Māori access and use data about themselves. We look forward to replicating this model for the big data releases coming later in the year,” government statistician and Stats NZ chief executive, Mark Sowden says.
