State of the nation 2025. The basics – food, a home, family

Author:

Paul Barber, Ana Ika, Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit

Source:

Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit

Publication date:

2025

Topics:

People

State of the nation 2025. Kai, kāinga, whānau. The basics – food, a home, family.

Extract:

Introduction

The Salvation Army – Te Ope Whakaora, the Army that brings life – is working every day with communities, whānau and individuals right around the country. In this report, the wellbeing of our nation is assessed by looking at outcomes that impact people and communities. We look at measures across the following areas: Children and Youth, Work and Incomes, Housing, Crime and Punishment and Social Hazards. We also assess all these areas through a specific focus on outcomes for Māori, using He Ara Waiora wellbeing framework.

The aim of this report is to focus on trends and outcomes at a national level to see what they can tell us about the overall state of our nation at the beginning of 2025. The statistics and data are mostly drawn from publicly available sources, and we aim to use the most recently available indicators for the year to 31 December 2024.

The indicators in each section are grouped into themes, and an assessment is made as to whether there is overall improvement (+), no change (NC) or deterioration (–). NA indicates where data is unavailable. These assessments are intended to promote debate and discussion about our progress towards greater wellbeing. ...