Ministry of Social Development 2008 Social Report
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Key facts from the 2008 Social Report, released 28 August 2008.
Health
- New Zealanders are living healthier lives as people can expect to live independently for longer.
- Life expectancy has improved by one to two years since 2000-2002 and is now 78.1 years for males, and 82.2 years for females.
- There's been reduction in suicide rates for those aged 15-24 years, down from a peak of 27.2 per 100,000 people to 18.1 deaths per 100,000.
- Less people are smoking cigarettes. 22 percent of the population aged 15-64 years smoked in 2006/07, but there are still higher smoking rates for younger adults, Māori, Pacific peoples and those living in deprived areas.
- There's been no significant increase in the obesity rate between 2002/03 and 2006/07. It increased between 1997 and 2002/03, but has remained static since.
- Potentially hazardous drinking has not decreased. It's remained at similar levels to those in 1996/97 with 22.9 percent of drinkers aged 15 and over at risk. (Potentially hazardous drinking is defined as a pattern of established alcohol consumption which carries high risk of future damage to physical or mental health).
Knowledge and Skills
- Adults are becoming better educated with more people gaining a bachelor's degree or higher. Māori have also made large strides in attaining tertiary education.
- School leavers are gaining higher qualifications with 66 percent attaining NCEA level 2 or above in 2007.
- Participation in tertiary education has declined slightly between 2006 and 2007 with 13.3 percent of people aged 15 years and over enrolled in tertiary education in 2007 compared to 13.6 percent in 2006.
Paid Work
- We still have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the OECD
- Median hourly earnings have steadily increased reaching $18.00 per hour for wage and salary earners in 2007 ($19.10 for males; $16.78 for females, 2007)
- Workplace injury claims reduced to 126 claims per 1,000 full-time equivalent employees in 2006, down from 132 claims per 1,000 full-time staff in 2005.
Economic Standard of Living
- The gap between the highest and lowest income earners has decreased. Between 2004 and 2007 the income of the household at the bottom 20 percent increased by 11 percent, while the income of the household at the top 20 percent only increased by four percent. This is the first reduction in two decades.
- Market income per person (real gross national disposable income) improved to $30,255 per person, up from $29,104 in the previous year.
- The proportion of people living on low incomes has also improved with 13 percent of the population living in households with low incomes in 2007 compared with 22 percent in 1997.
- Housing affordability has regressed with over 26 percent of households spending over 30 percent of disposable income on housing, an increase from 21 percent in 2004, however housing affordability actually improved for the lowest income group.
Leisure and Recreation
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Participation in recreational activity has remained steady with 51 percent of the population aged over 15 years physically active in 2006/07.
Safety
- Road traffic injuries and deaths from motor vehicle crashes have increased slightly. The long term trend is down for road deaths, but injuries have increased since 2000.
- In 2007 there were 10 road deaths per 100,000, up from 9.4 in 2006 and the injury rate increased from 363 per 100,000 in 2006 to 376. There were high casualty rates for young men, Māori and those aged over 65 years.
- In 2005, 1.7 per 100,000 people died as a result of assault or intentional injury compared to 1.2 per 100,000 in 2004. Assault mortality rates are based on small numbers and may fluctuate, so trends should be interpreted with caution.
