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NZ Sources and methods

How published data becomes the figures and claims on this site.

Automated sources are fetched from files or APIs. Manual sources are downloaded into the inbox and validated by the same pipeline. Curated figures are entered from reports with document and page references. Curated rows need a second person in verified_by; unverified rows remain drafts, while self-verification and missing citations block the source.

Validation checks schema, duplicate and unsorted periods, missing values, unexpected jumps, revisions and removed series. Errors block publishing. Warnings need human review; acknowledged warnings retain their reasons. The last valid data remains available when a source is blocked.

We never join different measures. Each retains its definition and unit. Accounting basis changes are recorded on observations, and charts break at those changes and missing periods.

The data pipeline reads source publications and produces versioned CSV and JSON files. Each dataset records its source, licence, retrieval date and a SHA256 fingerprint of the source snapshot. Derived datasets record their formula and input datasets.

The site reads these published files at build time. Factual answers are checked against them during the build. A failed claim stops publication and names the claim that needs review.

Charts break at changes in accounting basis and missing periods. Government term tables use the last available observation before a term begins or ends, and the latest available observation for the current term. Changes during a term do not establish causation.

How NZ election data comparisons work

Luxon's government took office on 27 November 2023. These compare the last reporting period before the 14 October 2023 election with the latest period. Economic shocks, global conditions and earlier decisions also affect the figures.

Quarterly and annual comparisons use the last period ending before 2023-10-14 and the latest published period. Monthly series without seasonal adjustment compare the same calendar month in 2023 as the latest month, ending before the election. Counts such as consents use 12-month totals. These are reporting periods, not estimates for election day. Crime uses the 2023 survey; its survey year includes months after the election. Real GDP per person uses years to March. Real house prices show the percentage change in the OECD index.

Comparisons require the same accounting basis throughout. A missing required comparison period or an incompatible basis stops the claim from publishing. Improvement or deterioration wording appears only where the dataset declares a preferred direction. The largest annual change in a hub summary is the largest absolute percentage change among the key measures listed below it; it does not rank their importance.

Using our sources for NZ statistics

We reformat, combine and calculate from our sources' data. Where we change data (for example adjusting for inflation or dividing by population) we say so on the page. Our sources do not endorse NZ in Numbers or its interpretations.

NZ data sources and licences

Every configured source is listed below. Reported licences still need confirmation; exclusions and attribution are recorded with each source.

Calculating NZ statistics from source data

These formulas come from the published derived datasets. Their source records identify the input datasets and fingerprints.

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