If there can be such a thing as an “average” Māori, then Census 2006 suggests to us that she – that’s right, currently there are approximately 15,600 more Māori women than men (or nearly 6 percent more) – is 22 years old; is single and has never been married; drives a car to work, where she earns around $21,000 a year; and has only a one-in-four chance of speaking Māori.

National statistics from the 2006 Census are now publicly available.

On census night there were 4,027,947 people who usually live in New Zealand. Of these, 565,329 people, or one in seven, identified themselves as Māori.

As enlightening as this type of description might be, arguably the greatest value the Census data holds for Māori lies in the trends that emerge when this data is compared across time.

For example, while the total Māori population increased by 8 percent (41,960) in the decade 1996-2006, the number of Māori women grew faster than Māori men – 9.5 percent growth compared to 6.5 percent, respectively. Our “average” Māori is not only single, but the odds are increasing that she might stay this way!

So what then does Census 2006 tell us about some important questions like where Māori are choosing to live, how they are aging, and how they are doing in the workforce and education?

The biggest concentration of Māori lives in the Auckland region, some 137,135 or nearly one-quarter of all Māori in New Zealand. This is followed by Waikato (76,570) and the Bay of Plenty (67,660).

However, the fastest rate of growth of population is in the South Island. Since 2001 the Māori population in Otago has grown 16.4 percent (more than double the rate of growth in Auckland – 7.4 percent) and the next fastest growth rate was in the Canterbury (15.9 percent) and West Coast (14.5 percent) regions respectively.

This growth presents opportunities and challenges that these communities will have to discuss. In a similar way demographers have for some time been talking about the opportunities and challenges presented by the differences in ages between the Māori and general populations.

Census 2006 confirms that the Māori population is significantly younger: there is more than a 13-year difference in the median age of the general population (35.9 years) and the Māori population (22.7 years); and while more than one-third of Māori are aged under 15, less than a quarter of the general population is.

The latest Census data also suggests that Māori cannot afford to view an aging population as an issue belonging solely to the rest of the community. Between 2001 and 2006 the number of people in New Zealand aged over 65 grew by around 10 percent. Looking specifically at the Māori population, the number of Māori aged over 65 grew by more than 30 percent!

Between 2001 and 2006 Māori recorded a greater reduction in the number of unemployed (down 26 percent compared with 24 percent in the general population) and a much larger increase in the number of people moving into fulltime employment (up 24 percent for Māori compared to 15 percent for the general population).

Similarly, between 2001 and 2006 the median income of Māori (aged over 15) increased by 41 percent (from $14,800 to $20,900). This gain by Māori was at a higher rate than that of the total population which grew 31 percent (from $18,600 to $24,200).

The number of Māori earning less than $20,000 per annum dropped by 13 percent between 2001 and 2006, while the general population decreased just 10 percent.

And while there has been a big leap in the number of New Zealanders earning over $50,000 a year – up 74 percent between 2001 and 2006; the corresponding jump for the Māori population has been massive – up 123 percent in the last five years (from 14,850 Māori in 2001 to 33,070 in 2006).

Underpinning this financial success story appears to be two very important structural changes.

Firstly, Census 2006 reveals important gains among Māori in acquiring tertiary education qualifications. In 2001 only 13,350 Māori had a bachelors or higher university degree. By 2006 this had climbed to 23,070 – an increase of 9720 or 73 percent. While a person in the general population is currently just over twice as likely to hold a university degree, between 2001 and 2006 this group grew by only 54 percent by comparison.

Correspondingly, there has been a big increase in the number of Māori moving into skilled and highly skilled areas of work. According to the Census between 2001 and 2006 the number of Māori Managers grew 84 percent, the number of professionals by 74 percent, and the number of technicians and trade workers by 52 percent. The corresponding increases among the general population were 57 percent, 56 percent, and 27 percent respectively.

All of which points to a bright future for our ‘Average Māori’ – if she’s up to the challenge!