A first-of-its-kind report launched on Monday lays the groundwork for growing the visibility of New Zealand’s ethnic communities through data, Ethnic Communities Minister Melissa Lee said.

“Too often and for too long, ethnic communities have largely been invisible in public sector data. As a result, their voices have not always been heard in government decision-making and service delivery,” said Lee.

Lee said New Zealand continues to grow more diverse.

"The latest census showed that nearly a third of people in New Zealand were born overseas. While the diversity of our population has been increasing, this has not always been reflected in the available data, especially at a level that dives deeper into individual ethnicities.

“That’s why I made it a priority of mine to build a stronger data and evidence base around New Zealand’s ethnic communities. The Ethnic Evidence report is a crucial milestone in realising this goal.”

Prepared by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, Ethnic Evidence is the first comprehensive report about how New Zealand’s ethnic communities are doing. It covers more than 120 measures across areas such as work and employment, health and wellbeing, and connectedness and belonging.

Lee said by bringing the available evidence together in one place, it is a key step in making ethnic communities and their needs and contributions more visible, which will help in creating more inclusive policies and services for all New Zealanders.

“This is the first resource of its kind to focus specifically on ethnic communities, helping to fill the voids in data that have existed for too long. The report sets a baseline for tracking the progress of our ethnic communities over time, and paints a wide-ranging picture of how they are faring.

“For example, it found that businesses owned by Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African people represent more than one in five businesses in New Zealand, and around 13 per cent of New Zealand businesses that export goods."

Lee said this clearly highlights the economic potential of our NZ ethnic communities.

“This report is an important step in the right direction as we strive to increase the visibility of our ethnic communities. It also sets the stage for future improvements to ethnic data, for example through growing better understanding of links such as ethnicity and disability, or ethnicity and gender.

“I look forward to public sector agencies, non-government organisations, academics, and others making use of these insights to help shape more equitable policies for all New Zealanders.”

A copy of the full report, along with supporting resources, is available on the Ministry for Ethnic Communities website at: https://www.ethniccommunities.govt.nz/our-communities/our-communities-in-the-data