60 S e cti o n One – General New Zealand context Kaupapa o Aotearoa purpose is a matter of continuing debate and review. The current ethnicity standard, which allows people to identify multiple ethnicities, uses two classifications: New Zealand’s ethnic diversity • The ‘total response’ classification counts the number There has been a marked increase in multiple ethnicities of people who have reported each ethnic category, among younger generations. In the 2006 Census, only no matter how many they reported. 10 per cent of all New Zealanders identified with more • The ‘single and combined response’ classification than one ethnic group. By contrast, 25 per cent of babies allocates individuals to unique ethnic categories, born in 2008 had more than one ethnicity. Two-thirds of reflecting the mix of responses they reported if more Mäori babies and almost half of Pacific babies belonged to than one. multiple ethnic groups, as did nearly a third of babies of European and Asian descent. 6 After a 2004 review, the ‘prioritised’ classification – which National ethnic population projections to 2026 reflect Asian, Pacific and Other) in order to simplify the presenta- these changes. In 2010, Statistics New Zealand projected tion of data – was removed from the standard. The that New Zealand’s Asian and Pacific populations will move away from this classification was partly because grow faster than other groups: it increasingly under-counted Pacific peoples and other • the European or Other population is projected to reach minority groups as multiple reporting increased. 8 3.47 million by 2026, an increase of 260,000 (0.4 per cent a year) over the estimated resident population at 30 June 2006 of 3.21 million. • the Mäori population is projected to reach 810,000 by 2026, an increase of 190,000 (1.3 per cent a year) over the 2006 estimate of 620,000. • the Asian population is projected to reach 790,000 by 2026, an increase of 390,000 (3.4 per cent a year) over the 2006 estimate of 400,000. • the Pacific population is projected to reach 480,000 by 2026, an increase of 180,000 (2.4 per cent a year) over the 2006 estimate of 300,000. 7 prioritised responses into five groups (European, Mäori, In the 2006 Census, partly as a result of a privately run campaign, there was a marked increase in people who reported their ethnicity as ‘New Zealander’: the number of ‘New Zealander’ responses to the ethnicity question increased from more than 90,000 in 2001 to more than 400,000 in 2006, making ‘New Zealander’ the third largest response group in the 2006 Census after ‘New Zealand European’ and ‘Mäori’. Although subsequent analysis revealed that around 90 per cent of these respondents were ‘New Zealand European’, they were coded in ‘Other’, skewing the results in both categories. In reviewing the ethnicity standard, Statistics New Zealand Collection of ethnicity identity data noted that conflating ethnicity with national identity was Statistics New Zealand collects ethnicity data in the a growing trend overseas, but decided against listing ‘New five-yearly Census, and the definition of ethnicity for this Zealander’ as an option in the 2011 Census. 9 4 People were able to identify with more than one ethnic group, so percentages do not add up to 100%. Statistics New Zealand, QuickStats about Culture and Identity: Ethnic Groups in New Zealand, accessed on 24 August 2010 from http://www.stats.govt.nz/ Census/2006CensusHomePage/QuickStats/quickstats-about-a-subject/culture-and-identity/ethnic-groups-in-new-zealand.aspx 5 July School Roll Returns (2009), Student Numbers by Age and Ethnic Group, Education Counts. Accessed 5 May 2010 from http://www. educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/maori_education/schooling/6028 6 See Tables 2.02 and 2.04, Statistics New Zealand, Demographic Trends 2009. Accessed 24 August 2010 from http://www.stats.govt.nz/ browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/demographic-trends-2009.aspx 7 Statistics New Zealand, National Ethnic Population Projections: 2006 (base)–2026 update. Accessed 5 May 2010 from http://www.stats. govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/nationalethnicpopulationprojections_hotp2006-26.aspx 8 Statistics New Zealand, Final Report of a Review of the Official Ethnicity Statistical Standard 2009. Accessed 11 May 2010 from http:// www.stats.govt.nz/publications/populationstatistics/review-of-the-official-ethnicity-statistical-standard-2009.aspx 9 Statistics New Zealand, Review of the Official Ethnicity Standard 2009. Accessed 9 November 2009 from http://www.stats.govt.nz/ publications/populationstatistics/review-of-the-official-ethnicity-statistical-standard-2009.aspx