Child Poverty in New Zealand

MSD’s 2026 report uses Stats NZ’s Household Economic Survey (HES) and Household Income and Living Survey (HILS) 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 2026. The next update using HILS 2025-26 is likely to be released by Stats NZ in February 2027.

The next MSD Child Poverty Report is scheduled for the second quarter of 2027.

Previous reports