Statistics on whānau Māori living arrangements and the conditions of their households have been released as an official Census statistic for the first time.
Kirikowhai Mikaere, lead technician for the Data Iwi Leaders Groups and Te Kāhui Raraunga, said the datasets enable Māori to plan for future housing needs.
“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,” she said.
“From the data released today, we know that most whānau Māori are living in one-family households, and 86.9% of our whānau Māori had 2-4 family members in 2023.
“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.”
Today’s release comes a week before whole-of-population insights are scheduled to be published, and is the second time Māori statistics have been released ahead of other statistics. In September, data on iwi affiliation populations was published.
Rahui Papa, chair of Te Kāhui Raraunga, said putting iwi Māori data in the hands of iwi Māori first was essential.
“Māori data is a taonga tuku iho. It must be carefully nurtured for the benefit of iwi, hapū and whānau Māori,” he said.
“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.
“These data released today enable iwi Māori to plan for prosperity. Te ora o te whānau (the wellbeing of the whānau) starts at home – right from our pēpi through to our kaumātua.”
So what are some of the key findings?
The 2023 Census looked at the living arrangements of whānau, the conditions they were living in, and whether they could access basic amenities.
It found that there were 300,918 whānau Māori living in households in occupied private dwellings – 69.5% with tamariki, and 30.5% made up of ‘couples with no children’.
Even though Māori make up just under 20% of the general population, 32.8% of all those living in crowded conditions are Māori.
Nearly half (44.9%) of households where living conditions were “always damp and mouldy” were Māori households.
Half of Māori living in ‘single-parent with children’ families have a total family income of $50,000 or less.
In 2023, there were 377,841 Māori households in occupied private dwellings across the country – 1,329 of these did not have access to any basic amenities: cooking facilities, safe drinking water, a fridge, bath or shower, toilet, and electricity supply.
91% of all Māori households had access to all seven basic amenities.
Glossary
taonga tuku iho – precious heirloom, something handed down, cultural property, heritage
tirohanga Māori – Māori view or perspective
pēpi – bab(y/ies)
kaumātua – elder(ly/s)
tamariki – children