Living arrangements
Ethnic differences
The age of leaving the family home varies across different ethnic groups.
In 2006, among 15 to 19 year olds, Mäori young people were least likely to live with parents (69.2 percent) and more likely than other young people to live as a parent of their own children (7 percent). (1) In this age group Pacific young people were most likely to be living with parents (79.1 percent).
Ethnic differences in living arrangements also appeared in the 20 to 24 age group. Among all young people aged 20 to 24, Pacific young people remained most likely to be living with parents (43 percent), while Asians were most likely to live in a non-family situation (45.9 percent, possibly reflecting high numbers of Asian university students). European young people in this age group were more likely than other youth to live in a couple without children (19.1 percent).
Due to differing patterns of fertility Mäori (31.2 percent) and Pacific youth (27.1 percent) were more likely than other 20 to 24 year olds to live in a household with children of their own.
| Ethnic group | Living with parent(s)(%) | Not living with family (%) | Couple without children (%) | Parent with children (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 to 19 years | ||||
| European | 78.4 | 15.4 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
| Māori | 69.2 | 21.0 | 2.8 | 7.0 |
| Pacific peoples | 79.1 | 15.6 | 1.0 | 4.2 |
| Asian | 73.9 | 23.4 | 1.3 | 1.5 |
| Other | 78.6 | 18.5 | 1.2 | 1.8 |
| Total | 76.3 | 17.6 | 2.6 | 3.5 |
| 20 to 24 years | ||||
| European | 29.9 | 36.4 | 19.1 | 14.6 |
| Māori | 26.7 | 30.2 | 11.9 | 31.2 |
| Pacific peoples | 43.0 | 23.6 | 6.3 | 27.1 |
| Asian | 29.3 | 45.9 | 13.2 | 11.6 |
| Other | 37.8 | 36.2 | 12.7 | 13.3 |
| Total | 30.4 | 37.1 | 16.2 | 16.3 |
Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census. Notes:
- Data relates to households in permanent private dwellings where household composition is known.
- Absentees are excluded. Therefore a small proportion of children may be coded as “Not living with family” where their parents were absent on Census night.
Notes
1. “Parents” in this section is taken from the Census 2006 definition: “A ‘parent’ is the mother, father (natural, step, adopted or foster), or ‘person in a parent role’ of a ‘child in a family nucleus’. A ‘person in a parent role’ is a person who is not a mother or father (natural, step, adopted or foster) of the young person (as defined by the survey) but who nevertheless usually resides with that young person.” For information about derivation of categories, please see the Methodology report.
