Embargoed until 10:45am – 18 December 2008

Males have higher debt and income

In 2007, males earned a higher income than females, and left study the previous year with a higher average student loan leaving debt, Statistics New Zealand said today. Males earned 13 percent more than females ($31,560 for males, $27,910 for females), but had an average leaving debt 9 percent higher ($15,370 for males, $14,090 for females).

Males who left study in 2002 received an income 6 percent higher than females in the year after leaving study ($26,160 for males, $24,620 for females). This gap had increased to 20 percent by 2007, with males earning an average of $39,060 and females earning $32,680 five years after leaving study.

In 2007, all those who left study in 2006 were earning an average of $29,410, after having left with an average leaving debt of $14,620. By 2007, students who had left study in 2002 were earning an average of $35,650, and had repaid 21 percent of their average leaving debt of $13,210, while 34 percent had repaid their loan in full.

Both males and females who left university had a higher debt than the average for all students but also received higher incomes in later years. In 2007, university leavers had an average income of $35,980 ($37,240 for males, $35,090 for females), having left study the year before with an average debt of $20,180 ($21,520 for males, $19,210 for females). This average leaving debt is 38 percent higher than the average for all students. By 2007 males who left university in 2002 earned an average of $50,240, 21 percent more than the average for females, who earned $41,400.

Fewer students had fully repaid their loan on leaving study in 2006, compared with 2005 (11 percent in 2006, 12 percent in 2005). This may reflect the introduction of the interest-free student loan policy in 2006.

Full repayment on leaving study also decreased for students who left university in 2006 (11 percent in 2006, 13 percent in 2005). University leavers repay their loans at a higher rate than the average for all leavers. By 2007 university leavers had paid off an average of 25 percent within five years of leaving study, with 42 percent having fully repaid their loan.

Geoff Bascand
Government Statistician
18 December 2008

ENDS

See also the Hot Off The Press information release Student Loans and Allowances: 2007. [PDF]

StudentLoansandAllowances2007tables115Excel277KB.xls

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Student Loans and Allowances: 2007 Highlights

There were 173,766 borrowers in 2007 (60 percent females and 40 percent males) up 4 percent from 167,400 in 2006.

The average student loan leaving debt reached a high of $14,620 in 2006. For those that attended university, the average leaving debt was $20,180, 38 percent higher than the average for all students. Males had an average leaving debt of $15,370 in 2006, 9 percent higher than for females ($14,090).

The total number of students receiving an allowance rose for the second year in a row, up 5 percent from 2006 to reach 61,230 in 2007.

Males who left study in 2002 received an average income of $39,060 in 2007, 20 percent more than females ($32,680).

The average income for those who left university in 2002 was $45,440 in 2007, 27 percent more than the average of $35,650 for all students.

The proportion of debt repaid within five years decreased from 22 percent for 2001 leavers to 21 percent for 2002 leavers.

The percentage of students who fully repaid their loan on leaving study decreased to 11 percent in 2006, down from 12 percent in 2005.

ENDS

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