Census shows ethnic changes

Press, 14 November 1977, Page 7

Census shows ethnic changes

PA Wellington More than one New Zealander in 10 is a Maori or Polynesian, the latest statistics from the 1976 census show. Statistics Department figures released this week show that 86.7 per cent of the population is of European origin, 8.6 per cent Maori, 2 per cent Polynesian, 0.5 per cent Chinese, 0.3 per cent Indian. The rest are in the “not specified” grouping or are in smaller ethnic groups. In the previous census in 1971, 89.1 per cent of the population was classified as European, 8 per cent Maori, 1.6 per cent Pacific Island, 0.4 per cent Chinese, 03 per cent Indian, and 0.6 per cent other. The 1976 results also include a further figure of 23 per cent who say they have some Maori ancestry although they do not call themselves Maoris.

Adding the 8.6 per cent Maori and 2 per cent Polynesian totals, it can be seen that more than one New Zealander in eight now has some Maori or Polynesian blood.

In the North Island this proportion is one-sixth (16.7 per cent), but the South Island it is less than onetwentieth (4.6 per cent). The census showed that the number of dwellings in New Zealand increased from 801,686 to 923,257 in the five years since the last census. In the same period both the proportion owning their own house and the proportion renting or leasing increased—from 67.6 to 69.2 per cent, and from 25.7 to 26.9 per cent respectively. The proportion borrowing a house or provided with one from a job or other source fell from 6.5 to 4.9 per cent.

The most dramatic increase in household amenities over the five years was in deep-freezes, which were possessed by 43.1 per cent of households in 1971 and 702 per cent in 197 G.

Other amenities in 1976 (with 1971 figures in parenthesis) were: television sets, 93.8 (84.6) per cent; telephone, 89.9 (85.6) per cent; garage or carport, 72.5 per cent; fully automatic washing machine, 38.4 per cent; clothes drier, 38 (26.9) per cent; and caravan, 53 per cent.