The headline that accompanies this graph from NZ Statistics is "Marriages Maintain Momentum"
I wonder what the chart accompanying "Marriages Lose Momentum" would look like.
UPDATE; Stuff don't see it quite that way with their headline "Fewer Kiwis saying 'I do'".
3 comments:
Not so strange really.
Marriage in New Zealand is in serious trouble.
In the press release the graph shown is the Raw Marriage rates, a much flatter graph, although still showing a decline in marriages performed.
The graph you show is the marriage rate per eligible population, ie unmarried people over 15 and the decline is horrendous.
I looked into this a few weeks ago
Why Marriage Matters
In 1971 the marriage rate was 45.7 / 1000 of the eligible population.
The latest figures are 13.2 / 1000 eligible population.
The reason for the spin in the headline surely is the hostility to marriage as an institution by the ruling elite and their attempt to hide from us the damage they have succeded in bringing to this institution.
Thanks Andrei. It was the "spin" you note that drew my attention. This is a govt dept - not a political party after all. Had a look at your post. You can update your families with dependent children stats from population projections. Using a middling series estimate (4B) the figures for 2006 are 546,100 families of which 166,400 are one-parent or 30.4 percent. It'll be interesting to see actual 2006 Census figures.
There are enough deceptive uses of statistics out there without the deparment itself getting in on the act.
Of course I'm of the slightly cynical view that they might not have mislead intentionally - but more incompetently...
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