Report of the Review of the Measurement of Ethnicity

This review was undertaken in response to the evolving nature of the ethnic make up of New Zealand society and of the needs of users of ethnicity statistics. The purpose of the review was to examine the concepts and measurements of ethnicity used in official statistics, to ensure the continued relevance of the statistics. The review began in 2000 with publication of its terms of reference. A series of perspectives papers was published in 2001 which provided background to the review. More than 120 submissions were received from a range of individuals and organisations. These were analysed and used in the development of draft recommendations distributed for comment in December 2002. Following feedback, some changes were made to the draft recommendations. Final recommendations are presented in this report. The main recommendations relate to the need for consistency in the measurement of ethnicity in official statistics; the need to recognise ‘New Zealander’ type responses as a valid ethnic group in the classification; and the need to discontinue publication of prioritised data as a standard form of ethnicity output in official statistics. It is also recommended that a programme of research be developed to investigate issues that it has not been possible to address in the current review.