Religious affiliations of New Zealander people in New Zealand
2023 Census, % of people where information available
The following information applies to all values in the table.
Census Year: 2023, Subject population: Census usually resident population, MEC group: Other ethnicities, Ethnic group: 61118, Unit: Percentage
You can use this data confidently. Stats NZ rated it as high quality.
For more information, read about response rates below.
Stats NZ gives data an overall rating based on sources and coverage, consistency, and data quality.
Why am I seeing this?
This data is from the Census. The past two censuses had relatively low response rates, particularly for some areas of New Zealand and groups of people.
Where information was missing or unreadable, Stats NZ attempted to use data from a range of places such as previous censuses or administrative data that is collected by other government agencies. If that isn't available, Stats NZ use statistical models to predict what the missing data would have been. This is called imputation.
Things to be aware of
A person may vary their reporting of their ethnicity, including the number of ethnicities they identify with, according to the context in which they are asked. This is a consideration when comparing the 2023 Census results with other sources. For the 2023 Census, changes to the online form as-you-type list were made to encourage more specific responses.
Religious affiliation is the self-identified association of a person with a religion, denomination, or sub-denominational religious group.
Ethnicity is the ethnic group or groups a person identifies with or has a sense of belonging to. It is a measure of cultural affiliation (in contrast to race, ancestry, nationality, or citizenship). This demographic attribute is self-perceived, and a person can belong to more than one ethnic group.
Response rates and final data sources
For religious affiliation, the response rate from 2023 Census forms was 84.4%. In addition, 9.2% of responses were sourced from forms submitted during previous censuses. The remaining 6.5% of responses were imputed.
For ethnic group, the response rate for this question from 2023 Census forms was 86.0%. A further 8.8% of the data come from responses to the previous Censuses. Administrative data made up 4.4% of the response while the remaining 0.8% of the data was derived from statistical imputation.
Definitions
Census usually resident population count of New Zealand: a count of all people who usually live in and were present in New Zealand on census night. It excludes overseas visitors and New Zealand residents who are temporarily overseas.
Data calculation/treatment
This data has been randomly rounded to protect confidentiality. Figure.NZ calculated percentages based on the 'Total stated' values for each variable. Individual percentages may not sum to 100% and values for the same data may vary in different tables.
Census: Select variables by detailed ethnic group (custom request) - Religious affiliation 2023
How to find the data
This data was originally produced by Stats NZ for the Ministry of Ethnic Communities (MEC). Figure.NZ was restructured and organised by Figure.NZ for processing purposes.
The New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings is the official count of how many people and dwellings there are in New Zealand. It provides a snapshot of our society at a point in time and helps to tell the story of its social and economic change. The 2023 Census, held on Tuesday 7 March, was the 35th New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings. The first official census was run in 1851, and since 1877 there has been a census every five years, with only four exceptions.
Purpose of collection
Census information is used by government agencies, local authorities, businesses, community organisations, and the public for developing and implementing new policies, research, planning, and decision-making. It helps us make decisions about how to best use public funding, especially in areas of health, education, housing, and transport.
The census is also the primary source of information used for deciding the number of general and Māori electorates, along with data from the corresponding Māori Electoral Option.