15 May 2012

Demographic Institute Says Statistics Absent in the Solo Parent, Contraception Debate

Solo parents, teenage births and babies born outside marriage are all statistics on the radar of the National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis, based at the University of Waikato.

The government announced in a pre-Budget release that New Zealand women living on benefits - including teenagers and the daughters of beneficiaries – will be offered free long-term contraception. The welfare reform news has sparked a maelstrom of controversy.

Professor Natalie Jackson, who heads the National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis (NIDEA), says debate on this issue needs to be informed by statistics. Contrary to the message that New Zealand’s teenage fertility and sole parenting rates are skyrocketing:

In 2011, 2.8% of New Zealand’s teenage women (15-19 years) gave birth. This is higher than Australia (1.7%), similar to the United Kingdom (2.4%), and lower than the USA (3.9%). It is less than half the 1972 level (6.9%).
At the 2006 Census, the median age of solo parents in New Zealand was 42.9 years.
1.4% were younger than 19
14.6% were 20-29 years
84% were 30 and over

NIDEA, which was launched in late 2010, undertakes research at the interface of population and economics to help inform choices and responses to the demographic, social and economic interactions that are shaping New Zealand's future.

A population fact-sheet is attached to this release: http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1205/NIDEA Facts Sheet.pdft.

ENDS

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