The New Zealand Family

Neela Dayal, Ron Lovell

Given international interest in the “family” during 1994, the Editorial Board of the Social Policy Journal of New Zealand has decided to present a range of information that provides a snap-shot of the complex and dynamic nature of the family in New Zealand. An important observation is the degree to which family trends in New Zealand mirror international trends facing the family in similar countries.

The information, presented as concise bullet points, is derived from data provided by Statistics New Zealand and the Department of Social Welfare. It covers family composition, family formation, duration of marriage, children, sole parents, benefit dependency, labour force participation, income, and child abuse, neglect and care difficulties.