Overall life satisfaction among people in New Zealand
Rated on a 0-10 scale, by status in employment, 2023, % of population within group
| Category | Response category | % of population within group |
|---|---|---|
| Paid employee | 0 to 6 | 19.1% |
| Paid employee | 7 | 23.2% |
| Paid employee | 8 | 31.5% |
| Paid employee | 9 | 13.2% |
| Paid employee | 10 | 13% |
| Employer | 0 to 6 | 18.4% |
| Employer | 7 | 17.7% |
| Employer | 8 | 29.9% |
| Employer | 9 | 19.3% |
| Employer | 10 | 14.6% |
| Self-employed and without employees | 0 to 6 | 20.6% |
| Self-employed and without employees | 7 | 20.6% |
| Self-employed and without employees | 8 | 28.3% |
| Self-employed and without employees | 9 | 16.1% |
| Self-employed and without employees | 10 | 14.4% |
Definitions
LGBT+: people whose gender is different from their sex recorded at birth (transgender, or another gender/non-binary), OR report a sexual identity other than heterosexual (gay or lesbian, bisexual, or another sexual identity).
WGSS: the Washington Group Short Set (WGSS) of questions on disability asked respondents about difficulties they have doing certain activities: seeing (even with glasses), hearing (even with hearing aids), walking or climbing stairs, remembering or concentrating, self-care, and communicating.
WGESS: the Washington Group Enhanced Short Set of questions contains additional questions on upper body functioning, fine motor skills, and experience of anxiety or depression. These questions identify a broader group of disabled people.
For more information
Changes to data collection/processing
Some questions have been changed or expanded in this GSS. These include:
- Disability
- Sex at birth and Gender
The previous two GSSs included the Washington Group Short Set (WGSS) of questions on disability, which asked respondents about difficulties they have doing certain activities: seeing (even with glasses), hearing (even with hearing aids), walking or climbing stairs, remembering or concentrating, self-care, and communicating. The Washington Group Enhanced Short Set of questions has been included in this GSS, which contains additional questions on upper body functioning, fine motor skills, and experience of anxiety or depression. These questions identify a broader group of disabled people than in previous data collections.
Data provided by
Dataset name
New Zealand General Social Survey: Well-being statistics 2023
Webpage:
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/wellbeing-statistics-2023
How to find the data
Under Downloads, select 'Wellbeing statistics: 2023 – CSV'
Import & extraction details
File as imported: New Zealand General Social Survey: Well-being statistics 2023
From the dataset New Zealand General Social Survey: Well-being statistics 2023, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 2-23,446
- Columns: 7-8
- Provided: 42,576 data points
This data forms the table Society - Well-being measures 2023.
Dataset originally released on:
September 25, 2024
Purpose of collection
The New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS) produces statistics about social well-being to inform decision-making by government agencies and the wider community. Data gathered includes objective information about circumstance, such as labour force status and income, as well as a personal assessment of different aspects of New Zealander's lives, such as life satisfaction, health, housing, human rights, and relationships. In particular, the survey provides a view of how well-being outcomes vary across different groups within the population.
Method of collection/Data provider
Stats NZ use household and personal questionnaires to collect the data. One individual in the household completes the household questionnaire, which collects information about all the usually resident people in that household (eg family relationships and household income). Stats NZ randomly select one individual in the household aged 15 years or over to answer the personal questionnaire.