What are the New Zealand Government's goals?

A Unicef study has found that 16.3% of New Zealand children are being raised in poverty — a rate higher than all but three OECD nations (Mexico, the United States and Italy). Child Poverty in Rich Countries 2005, published by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) found that one in six New Zealand children were living in homes that earned less than half of the local national median income. (These figures are based on data collected in 2001.)

Figure 1 The Child Poverty League

The bars show the percentage of children living in ‘relative’ poverty, defined as households with income below 50 per cent of the national median income.



Child poverty, according to this measure, increased during the 1990s:

Figure 2

Changes in child poverty rates during the 1990s. The bars show the rise or fall in child poverty rates in each country during the 1990s.