Household crowding is linked to a number of health conditions, including rheumatic fever, meningococcal disease, respiratory infections including pneumonia and skin infections (eg, cellulitis), as well as elevated blood pressure and increased risk of childhood injuries.
This report was commissioned by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to inform cross-agency housing work in the context of crowding as a determinant of health.
The report provides a description of household crowding in New Zealand using Census 2013 data. Crowding as a proportion of total population decreased between 2006 and 2013, but numerically there has been an increase in the number of people living in crowded households.
Findings support the continued need for interventions that are aimed at reducing household crowding and encouraging healthier homes, especially for Māori and Pacific peoples and children.
Key Results
Data from the Census 2013 shows that:
- around 10 percent of New Zealanders live in crowded conditions (398,300 people in 74,124 households)
- the Counties Manukau DHB region has the greatest proportion of people living in crowded conditions (22%), followed by Auckland (16%) and then Tairawhiti (15%)
- children are over represented in crowded households. Over half of crowded households have two or more children (at least one child aged between 5 and 14 years) living in them
- two in five Pacific people (38%) and one in five Māri (20%) and Asian (18%) people live in crowded households. This compares to 1 in 25 Europeans (4%)
- there has been a 9 percent increase in people living in crowded conditions in the Counties Manukau DHB region (7755 more people) since 2006. This is likely to reflect a population increase in the region
- for the lowest household income quintile, 15 percent of households are crowded; for the highest household income quintile just 2 percent of households are crowded
- of people living in crowded households nationally, 35,847 (9%) live in households that do not use any form of heating in their houses. The highest percentage (16%) is in the Counties Manukau DHB region, where 14,103 people living in crowded households use no heating.