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Student Allowances January – December 2021

For this report, a student is defined as a person who received at least one payment from StudyLink in the calendar year, up to the end of the specified reporting month.

The data in this report are cumulative calendar year-to-date figures. All percentages are computed using actual data and rounded to the nearest one decimal point. Total percentages may not add up to exactly 100 percent because of rounding effects. The last three years of data and annual comparisons are presented in summary tables. Earlier figures are included in the downloadable Excel files.


Demographics of Student Allowance recipients

The following tables provide a summary profile of Student Allowance recipients for January to December, in the last three years. Detailed data series are available in the downloadable Excel files. 

Number of recipients by age and gender

Age is calculated as at the end of the period.

Age group January to December Annual change 
2019 2020 2021 2019–20 2020–21
17 years and younger 66 76 63 15.2% -17.1%
18–24 years 38,047 37,389 37,443 -1.7% 0.1%
25–34 years 15,915 16,107 17,232 1.2% 7.0%
35–44 years 4,428 4,479 4,524 1.2% 1.0%
45–54 years 2,401 2,203 2,031 -8.2% -7.8%
55 years and older 1,641 1,469 1,518 -10.5% 3.3%
Total number of Student Allowance recipients 62,499 61,722 62,814 -1.2% 1.8%

Note: A breakdown of “55 and older” is available in the downloadable Excel file.

Gender January to December Annual change 
2019 2020 2021 2019–20 2020–21
Female 37,548 36,942 37,482 -1.6% 1.5%
Male 24,939 24,579 24,909 -1.4% 1.3%
Gender Diverse 9 201 423 2133.3% 110.4%
Total number of Student Allowance recipients 62,499 61,722 62,814 -1.2% 1.8%

Note: In December 2019, forms and online applications were updated to include Gender Diverse, which was not available previously. 


Number of recipients by residential status

Residential status January to December Annual change 
2019 2020 2021 2019–20 2020–21
Citizen by birth  44,755 44,024 44,754 -1.6% 1.7%
Citizen  9,099 9,213 9,507 1.3% 3.2%
Permanent resident 7,978 7,863 7,941 -1.4% 1.0%
Other 666 624 615 -6.3% -1.4%
Total number of Student Allowance recipients 62,499 61,722 62,814 -1.2% 1.8%

Note: “Other” includes students who have refugee status, and those classified as protected person/s. Details of “Other” are included in the downloadable Excel file.   


Number of recipients by relationship status

Relationship status January to December Annual change 
2019 2020 2021 2019–20 2020–21
Single 56,403 55,503 56,487 -1.6% 1.8%
Married/Civil Union 3,915 3,969 4,029 1.4% 1.5%
Defacto 2,175 2,244 2,283 3.2% 1.7%
Unknown 3 3 15 0.0% 400.0%
Total number of Student Allowance recipients 62,499 61,722 62,814 -1.2% 1.8%

Note 1: Students with unknown marital/relationship status refer to clients who have had a change in circumstances, and their marital/relationship status has not been confirmed at the end of the period. These students would not be receiving payments while their marital/relationship status is not confirmed.


Number of responses by ethnic group

It is not mandatory for students to disclose their ethnicity and students may report more than one ethnicity.

The numbers presented in this table are total response — students who reported more than one ethnic group were counted in each group they identified with. The total number of responses, therefore, does not add up to the total number of Student Allowance recipients.

Ethnic group (Total response) January to December Annual Change 
2019 2020 2021 2019–20 2020–21
European 32,388 32,058 34,494 -1.0% 7.6%
Māori 13,158 12,468 12,513 -5.2% 0.4%
Pacific Peoples 7,188 6,936 7,266 -3.5% 4.8%
Asian 13,674 13,506 14,388 -1.2% 6.5%
Middle East/Latin American/African 2,289 2,406 2,493 5.1% 3.6%
Other 396 378 354 -4.5% -6.3%
Total recipients with recorded ethnicity 59,160 57,930 60,810 -2.1% 5.0%
Not specified 3,339 3,792 2,007 13.6% -47.1%
Total number of Student Allowance recipients 62,499 61,722 62,814 -1.2% 1.8%

Note 1: A detailed breakdown of ethnic groups is included in the downloadable Excel file.


How we report ethnicity

From December 2021, we are changing our reporting to an approach called ‘total response’. Making this change means that we recognise all aspects of someone’s ethnicity. This will reflect our clients more accurately, align our approach with Statistics NZ’s reporting and reflect best practice.

Ethnicity is about people’s identity and sense of belonging. Ethnicity measures cultural affiliation, rather than race, ancestry, nationality, or citizenship. Ethnicity is self-perceived and people can identify with more than one ethnic group. Previously, we reported ethnicity using an approach called ‘prioritised ethnicity’. ‘Prioritised ethnicity’ means that we allocate people to a single ethnic group in an order of priority. The priority used by MSD was Māori, Pacific Peoples, Other and NZ European.