Child Poverty in New Zealand
MSD’s 2024 report uses Stats NZ’s Household Economic Survey (HES) to provide detailed information on:
- the conceptual and methodological choices involved in producing child poverty figures, using the measures in the Child Poverty Reduction Act (2018)
- the demographics of child poverty, with breakdowns by selected household characteristics
- how New Zealand children are faring compared with their European counterparts
- longer-term trends in material hardship and low-income rates for households with children
- what day-to-day life is like for children identified as ‘poor’ compared with other children
- housing affordability for households with children (renters and owners).
The MSD report is designed as a resource to inform public discussion, research and policy development for addressing child poverty. It complements the Stats NZ release which focuses mainly on shorter-term changes and progress to government CPRA targets. It has no more up-to-date headline trend figures than were published by Stats NZ in February 2024. The update using HES 2023-24 is scheduled for release by Stats NZ in February 2025.
MSD’s 2024 report updates the 2022 Overview and Selected Findings version of the 2022 report. The next full MSD Child Poverty Report is scheduled for the second quarter of 2025.
