The latest Census data shows most whānau Māori are living in one-family households and 86.9 per cent had two to four family members in 2023.
Data Iwi Leaders Group and Te Kāhui Raraunga lead technician Kirikowhai Mikaere says the data helps iwi Māori plan for future housing needs.
Te Kāhui Raraunga, a Māori-led organisation committed to advancing Iwi Māori aspirations through the power of data, has released iwi affiliation data on Māori descent families and households as part of a larger body of statistics released on Te Whata today.
“From today, iwi Māori have current, quality data on how people within their collective are living, including detail on household composition, income, and whether they have access to the things they need to live well, such as safe drinking water and electricity,” Mikaere says.
“These statistics are more than just numbers on a page – they provide meaningful insights into the housing requirements of our people and enable the development of fit for purpose housing for tomorrow and beyond,” she says.
This data is the first families and households statistics to be published from the 2023 Census and has been released a week before the whole-of-population insights which will be shared by Stats NZ.
Te Kāhui Raraunga chair Rahui Papa says placing iwi Māori data in iwi Māori hands first, is an essential part of good data governance.
“Māori data is a taonga tuku iho. It must be carefully nurtured for the benefit of iwi, hapū and whānau Māori,” Papa says.
“Putting iwi Māori data in iwi Māori hands first removes a barrier to us accessing our data, and also ensures there is a tirohanga Māori, a Māori lens, to the way any data insights are surfaced."
Papa says the data released will enable iwi Māori to plan for prosperity, “te ora o te whānau starts at home – right from our pēpi through to our kaumatua".
Customised iwi data requests on families, extended families and households data are also available to iwi and iwi-related groups through Stats NZ Te Ara Takatū.
