New Zealand census

The New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings (Māori: Te Tatauranga o ngā Tāngata Huri Noa i Aotearoa me ō rātou Whare Noho) is a quinquennial national population and housing census conducted by Statistics New Zealand, a government department, every five years.

In addition, teams of census workers attempt to cover all hospitals, camp grounds, workplaces and transport systems where people might be found at midnight.

The majority of households received an access code in the post and were encouraged to complete their census online.

[7] The 1946 census was brought forward to Tuesday 25 September 1945, so that the results could be used for an electoral redistribution (the first for ten years) before the 1946 election.

[14][3] This resulted in an independent review of the census process, and the resignation of the then-Chief Executive of Statistics New Zealand Liz MacPherson.

He spent the night of the 1981 census in a boat beyond New Zealand's 20 kilometres (12 mi) territorial limit in order to avoid enumeration in the country.

After the 2013 census, they wrote to 450 people in July 2013 who had failed to return the forms, of whom 99 were prosecuted, resulting in 46 convictions.

[21] In June 2024, allegations surfaced that workers and volunteers at Manuwera Marae had collected citizens' private information from 2023 census forms, creating a database to target Māori voters in the general election held later in 2023.

Takutai Moana Kemp was the chief executive of the marae at the time and was also a candidate for Te Pāti Māori, later narrowly winning a seat at the 2023 general election.

[26] On 30 June 2023, the field collection phase of the 2023 census ended with an estimated 89–91% of the New Zealand population having participated.