First language retention

Sex differences

There are very small differences between sexes in terms of first language retention in the youth population.

In some language groups, males are slightly more likely to retain their first language than females, whereas in other language groups the reverse is true. There is no obvious pattern to these sex differences.

Proportion of young people aged 12 to 24 who have retained their first language, by sex and language, 2006

Proportion of young people aged 12 to 24 who have retained their first language, by sex and language, 2006

Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census.