Hawkes Bay – smoking and religion down, number of people on Super up

4 February 2014

Latest results from the 2013 Census show that Hawkes Bay has fewer smokers and religious people, while more people are receiving income from New Zealand Superannuation or the Veteran’s Pension.

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

“For instance, while the region followed the national trend of fewer people identifying with a religion in the census, Hawkes Bay had the second-highest proportion of religious people in the country, behind Auckland,” Census Statistics Manager Gareth Meech said.

The proportion of Hawkes Bay residents who affiliated with a religion was 56.4 percent, compared with 55.0 percent nationally.

Anglican was the highest reported religion in Hawkes Bay (accounting for 16.5 percent of the population), followed by Catholic (11.4 percent).

The total number of Christians in the region declined 11.9 percent since 2006, while the number of people who said they have no religion increased 28.7 percent.

The number of smokers in Hawkes Bay declined since 2006, with 6,303 fewer people identifying themselves as regular smokers in the 2013 Census. The proportion of regular smokers in the region dropped from 24.8 percent of the adult population in 2006 to 18.2 percent last year.

Among people aged 15–19 years, the change was particularly significant. The proportion of regular smokers in this age group dropped from 24.1 percent in 2006 to 15.6 percent last year. That’s a 40.4 percent decrease, which equates to 945 fewer young smokers.

“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

© Scoop Media