Social vulnerability indicators 2023 — National surveillance report (June 2025)
Environmental Health Intelligence New Zealand (EHINZ), Massey University
Publisher: Environmental Health Intelligence New Zealand, Massey University
Official data
Academic
2026-10-09
Next review not yet scheduled
New Zealand
High confidence
verified
SNZ editorial review
Evidence boundary: June 2025 compilation with principally 2023 Census data and differently dated survey/projection inputs. Household, individual and area denominators are distinct. Indicators describe potential barriers, not individual diagnoses, certain disaster outcomes or current service capacity. Forecast cited uses 2020-base assumptions.
Short Answer
EHINZ brings together indicators of susceptibility and resilience to climate-related hazards, natural hazards and emergencies.
Key Points
- •People aged 65+ were 16.6% of the population in Census 2023 (p.4).
- •The report says 11.3% of households contained an older adult living alone in 2023, compared with 10.7% in 2018; the denominator is households, not all older people (p.4).
- •Its 28.2% aged-65+ projection for 2073 uses the 2020-base median (50th-percentile) projection; it is not a new 2026 forecast or a certain outcome (p.4).
- •The 2023 Household Disability Survey figure is 35% disabled among people aged 65+, compared with 17% across the household population; this is a separate source from Census indicators (p.7).
- •Table 2 reports 9.5% of all households without internet, 6.5% without a mobile phone and 6.3% without a motor vehicle in 2023; these are not senior-household-only estimates (p.16).
- •Health indicators use 2023/24 New Zealand Health Survey data and report confidence intervals; demographic and housing indicators generally use Census 2023, so reference years differ.
Full Summary & Notes
EHINZ brings together indicators of susceptibility and resilience to climate-related hazards, natural hazards and emergencies. Census 2023 supplies much of the national and local demographic, housing, transport and communication evidence, alongside differently dated health, disability and other sources. The report helps planners identify barriers such as living alone, disability, lack of transport or lack of household internet. Older people are one group within a wider population framework. Its household percentages must not be read as percentages of older individuals, and area indicators cannot diagnose an individual’s vulnerability. The 2073 age projection uses a 2020-base scenario. This June 2025 report is a historical data release, not a statement of current emergency risk or current service availability.
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