Children and Youth
There are around 1.2 million children and young people under 18 years old in this country, and our vision for all of them is to grow up free of poverty, safe from harm, with a good education and skills for a fulfilled life. The indicators in this section attempt to capture how well we are doing as a nation towards this goal. Concerningly, in the past year most of the indicators monitored show worsening or unchanged outcomes for children and youth in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Child poverty rates increased in the year to June 2023 (the most recent figures) and the growing number of children in households needing to access main welfare benefits in 2024 means even more children are at risk of living in material hardship and poverty.
Violence against children is increasing. The number of children admitted to hospital with injuries because of assault, abuse or neglect increased sharply in 2024
to the highest number in at least a decade. Violent offending against children also continued to increase and was at levels much higher than five years ago. The number of children who are victims of abuse and neglect rose in 2024, although it is still much lower than five years ago. The number of children going into state care increased for the first time in some years, even as the total number of children in care continued to reduce.
Child poverty rate selected indicators—2018–2023
AHC: household income after housing costs.
BHC: household income before housing costs.
MOVING LINE/RELATIVE (REL): compares incomes with a contemporary equivalised median income.
FIXED: a measure comparing current incomes with a previous (2018) baseline median. Useful during recessions.
The numbers—eg, AHC50—refer to the percentage of the equivalised median income considered to be the ‘poverty line’. The lower the percentage, the more severe the poverty being measured.
Child and youth serious and persistent offending rate per 10,000 population—2013–2024 (June years)
Youth offending is very much in the limelight and a prominent target of current government policy. The youth offending rate decreased slightly in 2024 after an increase in the previous year, and offending rates are much lower than a decade ago.
Increases in the number of children taking part in early childhood education (ECE) prior to starting school was a positive sign; ECE enrolments are recovering from the large declines resulting from the social impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
All school leavers with university entrance—2013–2023
Educational achievement outcomes worsened in 2023, with both an increase in students leaving school with less than NCEA Level 1 qualification and a decrease in higher achievement as fewer young people attained university entrance or higher.
Mental health pressures on young people remained high in 2024, with around one-quarter of young adults experiencing high levels of mental distress.
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Data: Children and Youth Interactive Dashboard
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