Previous residence of people currently living in New Zealand

Comparing address at 2018 vs 2023 Census, number of people

The following information applies to all values in the table. Census Year: 2023, Subject population: Census usually resident population, Measure: Usual residence 5 years ago indicator, Unit: Count
Response	Number of people
Same as usual residence	2,182,026
Elsewhere in New Zealand	2,212,092
Not born five years ago	288,387
Overseas	213,942
No fixed abode five years ago	1,749

Data Quality

Using this data

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.

Subject matter

Usual residence is the address of the dwelling where a person considers that they usually live. This indicator provides information on where people were staying on census night, in relation to where they normally live. 'Usual residence one year ago' determines if there is a difference between an individual’s usual residence and their usual residence one year ago. 'Usual residence five years ago' determines if there is a difference between an individual’s usual residence and their usual residence five years ago. It provides information on the migration of people within New Zealand and of those who have either been born or arrived from overseas over the last five years.

Response rates and final data sources

USUAL RESIDENCE INDICATOR The response rate from 2023 Census forms was 89.7%. 10% were sourced from administrative data (address notifications which came from several sources in the IDI, such as Inland Revenue, Ministry of Health, ACC, Ministry of Social Development etc.). 0.3% of responses were imputed. USUAL RESIDENCE ONE YEAR AGO The response rate from 2023 Census forms was 84.7%. 14.7% were sourced from administrative data. 0.3% of responses were imputed. There was no data for 0.7% of people. USUAL RESIDENCE FIVE YEARS AGO 71.7% of responses were sourced from the 2018 Census. 26.2% were sourced from administrative data. 0.2% of responses were imputed. There was no data for 1.9% of people.

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.
Census night population count of New Zealand: a count of all people present in New Zealand on census night. This includes visitors from overseas who are counted on census night but excludes residents who are temporarily overseas on census night.
Dwelling: A dwelling is any building or structure that is used, or intended to be used, for human habitation. There can be more than one dwelling within a building. For example, each apartment in an apartment building is a dwelling.
Household: either one person who usually resides alone, or two or more people who usually reside together and share facilities in a private dwelling. Included are people who were absent on census night but usually live in a particular dwelling and are members of that household, as long as they were reported as being absent on the dwelling form or the household set-up form.
Response 'stated': Members of the subject population (eg. people or dwelling) for which the data was obtained through a census form, administrative sources, or imputed.

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.

For more information

https://datainfoplus.stats.govt.nz/item/nz.govt.stats/7c1335e0-c2c7-4217-ac48-bfc7a68aea48
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/2023-census-population-dwelling-and-housing-highlights/

Inclusions

Geographically the census includes the North Island, South Island, Stewart Island, and the Chatham Islands, plus largely uninhabited islands including the Kermadec Islands, Three Kings Islands, Mayor Island, Motiti Island, White Island, Moutohora Island, Bounty Islands, Snares Islands, Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, and Campbell Island.

Data provided by

Stats NZ

Dataset name

Census: Totals by topic for individuals, (NZ total), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses

Webpage:

https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=2023%20Census&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_004&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=rc%2Bpc%2BasTotal%2BasMed%2BbpTotal%2BbiTotal%2BegTotal%2BmdTotal%2BlsTotal%2BliTotal%2BgeTotal%2BsbTotal%2BrbTotal%2BsiTotal%2BrsTotal%2BpsTotal%2BcbTotal%2BraTotal%2BcsTotal%2BdiTotal%2BdcTotal%2BdhTotal%2BdrTotal%2BdsTotal%2BdwTotal%2BddTotal%2BhoTotal%2BriTotal%2ByuTotal%2Byumea%2ByaTotal%2Byamea%2BspTotal%2BteTotal%2BhqTotal%2BqiTotal%2BpqTotal%2BpiTotal%2BibTotal%2Bibmed%2BwsTotal%2BseTotal%2BupTotal%2BhwTotal%2Bhwmea%2BmwTotal%2Bmwmea%2BinTotal%2BocTotal%2BtwTotal%2BsoTotal%2BcdTotal%2BjsTotal%2BqaTotal%2BsqTotal%2B1yTotal%2B5yTotal%2BvsTotal%2BctTotal%2BiaTotal%2BazTotal%2BizTotal.2013%2B2018%2B2023&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_IND_001&ly[cl]=CEN23_YEAR_001&to[TIME]=false

How to find the data

At the URL provided, download unfiltered data.
Figure.nz calculated the percentages for processing purposes.

Import & extraction details

File as imported: Census: Totals by topic for individuals, (NZ total), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses

From the dataset Census: Totals by topic for individuals, (NZ total), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses, this data was extracted:

Sheet: Census_individuals_totals_2023
Range: I2:M12149
Provided: 130 data points

This data forms the table Census - Usually resident population by usual residence indicator and residence five and one years ago 2013, 2018, 2023.

Dataset originally released on:

October 03, 2024

About this dataset

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 with making 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.