Measurement of Ethnicity Review Report Released

Review of the Measurement of Ethnicity Report Released

How ethnicity is defined, collected and organised has been the subject of a review and subsequent report released today by Statistics New Zealand. The results will guide how ethnicity data is collected and output in the next census and in time, all other statistics that are part of New Zealand's system of official statistics.

More than 120 submissions were received from a wide range of individuals and organisations.

The review found that the concept of ethnicity has continuing relevance, providing important information about how New Zealand's social landscape is changing.

The main review recommendations relate to the need to: ensure consistency in the measurement of ethnicity in official statistics ƒnƒnrecognise 'New Zealander¡¦ type responses as a valid ethnic group in the classification ƒnƒndiscontinue publication of prioritised data as a standard form of ethnicity output in official ƒnƒnstatistics develop a programme of research to investigate issues that it has not been possible to ƒnƒnaddress in the current review.

The 2006 Census will repeat the 2001 Census ethnicity question, ensuring that ethnic data is collected consistently over time.

More information about the review, including a full list of the recommendations is available at http://www.stats.govt.nz/ethnicity A revised classification and standard will be available shortly for use by researchers.

Brian Pink

Government Statistician

© Scoop Media