people of asian ethnicities a brief overview of the 2013 census data dr robert didham statistics nz...

People of Asian Ethnicities

A brief overview of the 2013 Census data

Dr Robert DidhamStatistics NZ and Waikato University

What is ethnicity?Definition (from the NZ Standard of Ethnicity):

– Ethnicity is a measure of cultural affiliation, as opposed to race, ancestry, nationality or citizenship.

– Ethnicity is self perceived and people can belong to more than one ethnic group.

An ethnic group is made up of people who have some or all of the following characteristics:

• a common proper name [group identity]• one or more elements of common culture which need not be specified, but may include religion, customs, or language [functional connections - though this has since been shown to be seriously problematic]• unique community of interests, feelings and actions [“unique” is debateable]• a shared sense of common origins or ancestry, and [shared histories]• a common geographic origin. [this relates to imagined homelands]

What is ethnicity NOT?

So, if we don’t quite see what ethnicity is …

• … can we get some idea by thinking about what it is not

Not skin colour

• As this Scot will tell you

Not race (in the current sense)

• A concept this flawed needs no further explanation

• But people are hell-bent on EXPLAINING:Race is not firmly biologically based but rather is a “constructof human variability based on perceived differences in biology, physicalappearance, and behavior” (IOM, 1999).

Not citizenship

• NZ citizens, all, but none would necessarily describe themselves as “NZer”

Not a surrogate for “foreign”

Not “non-English speaking”

• Yes – these folks do all speak excellent English

Not religion

Around Christchurch – not new photos as the last one shows

And not food

• Such as this “ethnic” dish!

Why does this matter?

RW0 RW1

Data

PF 1

PF 2

PF 3

Where RW = real world and PF = policy field

Data

Census data

• 1851 to 1911 primarily used country of birth• Ethnicity first collected in 1916• Early collections tended to concentrate on full

blood and mixed blood• Terminology changed over time (e.g. race,

ethnic origin, ethnicity)

Broad region of birth(numbers)

18581864

18711878

18861896

19061916

19261945

19561966

19761986

19962006

0

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

3000000

3500000NZ

Australia

Pacific

Asia

UK/Ireland

Europe

Nth America

Sth Africa

Rest of Africa

Middle east (including Turkey)

Sth America/Caribbean and other odds and sods.

nei

Broad region of birth (%)

18581861

18641867

18711874

18781881

18861891

18961901

19061911

19161921

19261936

19451951

19561961

19661971

19761981

19861991

19962001

20062013

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

NZ

Australia

Pacific

Asia

UK/Ireland

Europe

Nth America

Sth Africa

Rest of Africa

Middle east (including Turkey)

Sth America/Caribbean and other odds and sods.

nei

1916 EthnicityMale

Female

Note: pie charts show responses at lowest published level, not number of people (and generally pie charts are to be avoided)

European

1956 EthnicityMale

Female

European

2013 Ethnicity

New Zealand European

Male

Female

Birthplace mattersEuropean and Asian

Less than One YearSix Years12 Years18 Years24 Years30 Years36 Years42 Years48 Years54 Years60 Years66 Years72 Years78 Years84 Years90 Years96 Years

25 20 15 10 5 5 10 15 20 25

NZBMaleOSBMaleNZBFemaleOSBFemale

Less than One YearSix Years12 Years18 Years24 Years30 Years36 Years42 Years48 Years54 Years60 Years66 Years72 Years78 Years84 Years90 Years96 Years

30 20 10 10 20 30

NZB EuropeanOSB EuropeanNZB EuropeanOSB European

2013

2006

Less than One YearSix Years12 Years18 Years24 Years30 Years36 Years42 Years48 Years54 Years60 Years66 Years72 Years78 Years84 Years90 Years96 Years

6 4 2 2 4 6

NZBMaleOSBMaleNZBFemaleOSBFemale

Less than One YearSix Years12 Years18 Years24 Years30 Years36 Years42 Years48 Years54 Years60 Years66 Years72 Years78 Years84 Years90 Years96 Years

6 4 2 2 4 6

NZB AsianNZB AsianOSB AsianOSB Asian

Multiple EthnicitiesPeople of Asian Ethnicities 2013 Census

Less than One YearThree Years

Six YearsNine Years

12 Years15 Years18 Years21 Years24 Years27 Years30 Years33 Years36 Years39 Years42 Years45 Years48 Years51 Years54 Years57 Years60 Years63 Years66 Years69 Years72 Years75 Years78 Years81 Years84 Years87 Years90 Years

6 4 2 2 4 6 8

Female Asian and OtherFemale Asian OnlyMale Asian and OtherMale Asian Only

FemaleMale

Output and analysis of data

• Historic approaches:– Proportion of blood – reflects the views at the time– Combinations a common form of output 1916 onwards– Half or more – hides complexity– Prioritisation – only ever used if data sources dictate

• Total response data– Simplest - tends to hide complexity

• Combinations of ethnicities– Does add to PopTotal, richest in information– Many categories (64 at L1, 2.1million at L2, and 2.1*1068 at L4)

Key points to remember

• Always check the questionnaire– Can often explain apparently strange things (next slide)

• Multiple responses:– Data does not add to the total– Always use the number specified as denominator– (i.e. exclude not specified and residual counts)

• Ethnicities can change– A person may change their ethnic identification– People may report different ethnicities in different

contexts

Tickbox tyranny• Example: Indian

– There is a tickbox labelled “Indian”– Out of 156,500 people of an Indian ethnicity, 143,500 ticked “Indian”

NZ born Asia born Pacific born Total OSBpercent

Indian nfd 24.0 47.6 24.1 76.0Bengali 17.7 77.4 0.0 82.3Fijian Indian 17.0 0.2 82.4 83.0Gujarati 22.7 59.1 18.2 77.3Indian Tamil 23.7 72.0 0.0 76.3Punjabi 27.6 71.2 0.0 72.4Sikh 23.9 68.1 3.8 76.1Anglo Indian 28.3 53.6 0.0 71.7Indian nec 10.1 21.9 0.7 89.9

Avoid prioritised data

• Multiple responses:– People may have more than one ethnicity– A person’s ethnicities may change over time

• Avoid prioritised data whenever possible– Not a valid treatment of ethnicity– No information on relative strength of affiliations– Groups, including Maori, may be disadvantaged– Hides diversity and complexity

Problem with prioritisationPercentage losses to groupings

Census 2013

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male FemaleEuropean Pacific Asian MELAA

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

0-4 Years - 10-14 Years15-19 Years20-24 Years25-29 Years30-34 Years35-39 Years40-44 Years45-49 Years - 100 Years and Over

Growth of ethnic groupings1916-2013

1916 1921 1926 1936 1945 1951 1956 1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 20130.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

16.0

MaoriPacificAsian

Percent of population

Note scale not strictly linearCensus year

Asian births and deaths1998-2012

19981999

20002001

20022003

20042005

20062007

20082009

20102011

20120

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

AucklandRest of NZ

19981999

20002001

20022003

20042005

20062007

20082009

20102011

20120

100

200

300

400

500

600

AucklandRest of NZ

Births (Asian ethnicity of child)

Deaths (Asian ethnicity)

People of Asian Ethnicities 2013

New Zealand

Auckland

Old Auckland City (approximately central Auckland)

City of Migrants – old Auckland City area

Total and Total Asian NZ Born Total and NZ Born Asian

Chinese and Indian EthnicitiesAuckland Urban Zones

Census 2013

Chinese Indian0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

Northern Urban ZoneWestern Urban ZoneCentral Urban ZoneSouthern Urban Zone

Selected Asian EthnicitiesAuckland Urban Zones

Census 2013

Filipino Korean Japanese Sri Lankan Cambodian Thai Other Asian0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Northern Urban ZoneWestern Urban ZoneCentral Urban ZoneSouthern Urban Zone

Percent NZ BornSelected Asian Ethnicities

Census 2013

New Zealand Northern Urban Zone Western Urban Zone Central Urban Zone Southern Urban Zone0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

ChineseIndianFilipinoKoreanJapaneseSri LankanCambodianThaiOther Asian

What are the changes?

• Age structure.• Birthplace• Language• Qualifications• Families and interethnic partnering

Age Structure Changing

2006 Census 2013 Census % Change Number of people with one or more Asian ethnicities:

354,552 471,711 Up 33%Number of Asian 65 years and over: 16,071 27,309 Up 70%Number of Asian under 5 years: 23,913 35,898 Up 50%

Birthplacepeople with ethnicities in the Asian grouping

Population 2006 2013 %• Born in NZ: 70,650 105,728 50• Born in Overseas: 281,044 360,893 28• Born in Asia: 240,537 306,202 27• Born in Pacific: 31,338 43,738 40

• Ten years or more in NZ and specified born overseas: 79,458 162,599 105

Languagepeople with ethnicities in the Asian grouping

• Speaks English: 393,237 (83%)– Compared with 2006: 290,469 (82 %)

• Speaks one or more other languages: 325,677 (69%)– Compared with 2006: 254,763 (72 %)

Languagespeople with ethnicities in the Asian grouping

• Top languages other than English:

Asian(including

Asian NZB) Total NZChinese (nth and nfd) 92,142 9,951 95,013Hindi 64,314 6,585 66,312Cantonese 43,977 8,433 44,625Tagalog 28,467 831 29,016Korean 25,722 2,250 26,376Panjabi 19,578 2,961 19,752Gujarati 17,271 4,146 17,505Japanese 12,279 2,364 20,151

Other Languagespeople with ethnicities in the Asian grouping

Other languages in the top 40 (of over 170) include: • Other important languages of Asia:

– Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, Malayalam, – Sinhala, Marathi, Bengali– Thai, Khmer, Bahasa Malay, Vietnamese– Min, Tieu-Chow, Hakka, Wu

• Colonial and local languages– French, Spanish, Maori, Samoan, Fijian

• With increasing number of speakers of:– Lao, Burmese, Cebuano, Pashto, etc

Percent not speaking EnglishSelected ethnicities 2013

Filipino

Cambodian

Vietnamese

Burmese

Indonesian

Laotian

Malay

Thai

Chinese

Indian

Sri Lankan

Japanese

Korean

Afghani

Bangladeshi

Nepalese

Pakistani

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

FemaleMale

Percent not speaking Englishpeople aged 65 years and over

Filipino

Cambodian

Vietnamese

Burmese

Indonesian

Laotian

Malay

Thai

Chinese

Indian

Sri Lankan

Japanese

Korean

Afghani

Bangladeshi

Nepalese

Pakistani

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

FemaleMale

QualificationsPercent Distribution 2013

No Quali

fication

Level

1 Certificat

e

Level

2 Certificat

e

Level

3 Certificat

e

Level

4 Certificat

e

Level

5 Diploma

Level

6 Diploma

Bachelo

r Deg

ree an

d Leve

l 7 Q

ualificati

on

Post-gra

duate an

d Honours Deg

rees

Masters

Degree

Doctorat

e Deg

ree

Overse

as Se

condary

School Q

ualificati

on0

5

10

15

20

25

30

NZ BornOverseas BornPacific IslandsAsia

QualificationsPeople of Asian Ethnicities 2013

No Quali

fication

Level

1 Certificat

e

Level

2 Certificat

e

Level

3 Certificat

e

Level

4 Certificat

e

Level

5 Diploma

Level

6 Diploma

Bachelo

r Deg

ree an

d Leve

l 7 Q

ualificati

on

Post-gra

duate an

d Honours Deg

rees

Masters

Degree

Doctorat

e Deg

ree

Overse

as Se

condary

School Q

ualificati

on0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

NZ BornOverseas BornPacific IslandsAsia

Percent University GraduatesSelected ethnicities by sex 2013

Filipino

Cambodian

Vietnam

ese

Burmese

Indonesian

Laotian

Malay

Thai

ChineseIndian

Sri La

nkan

Japan

ese

Korean

Afghan

i

Bangla

deshi

Nepale

se

Pakist

ani

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

MaleFemale

Percent Older University GraduatesSelected ethnicities by sex, 65plus, 2013

Filipino

Cambodian

Vietnam

ese

Burmese

Indonesian

Laotian

Malay

Thai

ChineseIndian

Sri La

nkan

Japan

ese

Korean

Afghan

i

Bangla

deshi

Nepale

se

Pakist

ani

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

MaleFemale

Families and interethnic partneringBoth partners born overseas (93,015 couples)

Female Asian Female not AsianMale Asian 92% 2%Male Not Asian 6%

Male born overseas, female born in NZ (4,545 couples)Male Asian 27% 59%Male Not Asian 14%

Male born in NZ, female overseas (14,796 couples)Male Asian 11% 3%Male Not Asian 86%

Both partners born in NZ (6,279 couples)Male Asian 18% 36%Male Not Asian 46%

Total (121,026 couples)Male Asian 76% 6%Male Not Asian 18%

Opposite-sex couples, 2013 Census

Families and interethnic partneringOpposite-sex couples, 2013 Census

Both partners born overseas (22,524 couples)Female Pacific Female not Pacific

Male Pacific 90% 4%Male Not Pacific 6%

Male born overseas, female born in NZ (8,502 couples)Male Pacific 40% 50%Male Not Pacific 11%

Male born in NZ, female overseas (5,373 couples)Male Pacific 27% 20%Male Not Pacific 54%

Both partners born in NZ (17,454 couples)Male Pacific 22% 45%Male Not Pacific 33%

Total (55,191 couples)Male Pacific 54% 26%Male Not Pacific 20%

Key themes to take to the workshops1. Treating the “Asian Ethnic Group” as if homogenous can be misleading and prejudicial

2. High level of diversity with the grouping of ethnicities.

3. Among people of the same ethnicity there is substantial diversity1. Age and gender differences2. Educational differences3. Health histories4. Migration histories and family connectedness5. Transnational connections6. Language skills and settlement outcomes

4. Ethnicity may not be the best way to distinguish need groups or to define health or education delivery

1. Birthplace and years in NZ may be bigger factors2. Location within NZ and intercommunity connections influence uptake of facilities3. Age may be a key factor

5. Mental health, diabetes and HIV risks vary across groups1. Migration histories and local exposure to racism2. Economic well-being3. Access to health care and education varies4. Specific groups have different risk factors and support requirements

6. Intersecting policy fields1. In particular immigration, education and health policies need to interface more openly2. Access to social assistance becoming less transparent and less flexible3. Eligibility for education assistance influences settlement and personal development4. Link between skills as a factor in migration process alongside real world employment opportunities and flexibility is

career development

That’s all folks

For now anywayFeel free to contact: robertdidham@hotmail.com