Residents of New Zealand’s eight largest cities were asked: ‘In the last 12 months how often
have you felt lonely or isolated?’
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Nearly one half of residents reported never having felt lonely or isolated in the previous twelve months (47%).
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Those aged 18 to 25 were more likely to feel lonely and isolated, compared with other age groups.
European residents were less likely to feel lonely or isolated, whereas Asian/Indian residents were significantly more likely to feel this way.
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Residents with a household income of $70,001 and over were significantly less likely to feel lonely or isolated, compared to residents with a household income of less than $20,000 or $20,001 to $40,000.
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Residents of New Zealand’s eight largest cities were asked about cultural diversity and whether this
diversity has made their city a better or worse place to live.
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Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin City residents were significantly more likely to feel that cultural diversity made their cities a better place to live. Whereas, those residents living in Auckland City and Manukau City were significantly more likely to disagree with this statement.
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Residents of Asian/Indian ethnicity were more likely to feel that cultural diversity made their city a better place to live than other ethnic groups.
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There were no significant differences in the impact of diversity between genders or households with different incomes.
Residents of New Zealand’s eight largest cities who felt cultural diversity made their City a better
place to live were asked their reasons why.
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Sixty nine percent of residents who felt cultural diversity made the city a better place to live, cited a broader outlook and new ideas as the main reason for this. This was particularly evident amongst residents of Christchurch City.
Just under half of residents appreciated the opportunity afforded by diversity to learn about other cultures.
Residents who felt cultural diversity was having a negative impact were also asked why.
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The main reasons why residents felt that cultural diversity made their city a worse place to live included a lack of integration into society, the perception of too many foreigners in the community and the feeling that diversity causes racial disharmony.
Residents of Christchurch City in particular were significantly more likely to cite an inability to communicate, poor driving skills and too many Asian Immigrants as key reasons diversity made their city a worse place to live.
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