Northland – active in the community and giving up smoking

4 February 2014

Latest results from the 2013 Census show that many Northland people are keen on doing unpaid activities in their community and many are giving up smoking.

2013 Census regional summary tables – part 2, released today, gives an interesting impression of the Northland region and its districts.

“For instance, Northland locals are very active in the community. Nearly 1 in 5 Northlanders said they did voluntary unpaid work with an organisation, group, or marae in the four weeks leading up to census day. That’s around 20,300 people lending a helping hand – the highest proportion of all regions in the country,” Census Statistics Manager Gareth Meech said.

The 2013 Census showed Northlanders following the national trend of turning away from smoking. The proportion of adults in the region who said they were regular smokers dropped from 25.7 percent in the 2006 Census to 19.1 percent in 2013, a decrease of 5,853 people.

Northland also had the highest proportion of people who had given up smoking, with 28.1 percent of the population (or 29,400 people) identifying themselves as ex-smokers in last year’s census. This compared with 22.9 percent nationally.
Among people in Northland aged 15–19 years, the proportion who regularly smoke dropped from 24.8 percent in 2006 to 14.2 percent in 2013. That means there were 1,119 fewer smokers in this age group in the region, a decrease of 49.1 percent since 2006.

In 2013, the largest iwi for Northlanders of Māori descent was Ngāpuhi, with 25,023 people, followed by the Te Hiku grouping with 9,276 people.

“This local breakdown of census information is some of the most important, as it will help communities and service providers plan for the future,” Mr Meech said. “Providers of local services such as health, education, community, and recreational facilities can use census data to form a picture of the region and what it needs to succeed.”

2013 Census regional summary tables – part 2 has more information on topics such as religion, relationship status, occupation, and smoking.

ENDS

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