Statistics New Zealand has released data about wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2023. This data tells us about people’s happiness or satisfaction. The people in the survey were aged 15 years and over. For many questions, people were asked to rate their experience on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is low and 10 is high.

Life satisfaction for most people remains high. In 2023 people reported an average overall life satisfaction score of 7.6 out of 10, a slight drop from 7.7 in 2021. However, some groups rated their life satisfaction lower than average, such as families with one parent and a child or children (7.0 out of 10) and LGBT+ people (6.9).

Family wellbeing had similar scores. The average score for family wellbeing was 7.6 out of 10, compared with 7.7 in 2021. Interestingly, migrants rated their family wellbeing more highly than people born here. 87 percent of people who arrived in New Zealand in the last five years rated their family wellbeing at 7 or higher, compared with 81 percent of long-term migrants and only 76 percent of people born in New Zealand.

People in New Zealand are generally comfortable having neighbours who are different from them. 89 percent of people said they felt comfortable or very comfortable about a new neighbour with a different ethnicity, 87 percent about a neighbour with a different religion, and 84 percent about a neighbour with a different language or a different sexual orientation.

However, more people reported that it is hard to meet everyday costs. In 2023, 39 percent of people reported that they had only just enough, or had not enough, money to meet their everyday needs. This was a slight increase from 37 percent in 2018 (there was not enough data about this in 2021 to make comparisons). 48 per cent of people said that they had gone without or cut back on fresh fruit and vegetables, up considerably from 23 percent in 2018. 28 percent of people put off going to the doctor in 2023, compared with 25 percent in 2018. 58.5 percent spent less on hobbies and other special interests, down slightly from 59.7 percent in 2018.

Other significant changes were that people reported feeling less safe in New Zealand and having less trust in institutions. 55 percent of people said they felt safe or very safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark, down from 59 percent in 2021. Trust in the police was the highest, at 7.4 out of 10, but it fell from 7.7 in 2021. Trust in parliament decreased the most, down to 4.9 from 5.7 in 2021. Trust in the media was the lowest, at 4.3, down from 4.7 in 2021.

Why do you think recent migrants rated their family wellbeing higher than long-term migrants and people born in New Zealand?

Vocabulary

wellbeing (sometimes spelt: well-being) – a feeling of being comfortable, healthy, and happy

LGBT+ – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and others

work/ life balance – the number of hours you spend working compared with the number of hours you spend with family or friends, or relaxing

go without – to not have something that you usually have

cut back on – to reduce

hobbies – interests, activities that people enjoy doing in their free time