This week, Te Rourou, Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation has released the 2021 data refresh for the OHI Data Navigator (formerly the Thriving Rangatahi Population Explorer), a free interactive tool that provides insights into the experiences of young people in Aotearoa. The updated data, from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), shows that one in five young people are experiencing exclusion or disadvantage in New Zealand, with some communities disproportionately affected.

Ta’ase Vaoga, Rangatahi Insights Lead explains, “We found some changes in government administrative definitions and processes which impacted what the data was telling us. In 2021, we were seeing things getting worse year on year for young people, however, with this data refresh, the numbers seem to be getting better or plateauing.”

“While this is great for our rangatahi, the numbers still highlight a serious problem with 20% of young people in Aotearoa experiencing exclusion and disadvantage.”

The Data Navigator now allows users to drill down one geographical level further than before.

Lani Evans, Head of Te Rourou, Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation explains, “We can now see how exclusion and disadvantage is playing out in specific suburbs or rural communities. Insights at a community level will help those working locally to understand the specific experiences of young people and will help local organisations target support where it is most needed.”

Te Rouroru, Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation has committed to a long-term investment and partnership with community in Invercargill to address the disproportionate number of young people in the area that are experiencing exclusion and disadvantage.

“We can see from the refreshed data that 23% of young people in Murihiku experience exclusion and disadvantage, this is higher than the national average. But when we drill down deeper, we can see even starker differences, 41% of rangatahi in the southern suburb of Clifton are experiencing exclusion and disadvantage. This is an incredibly valuable insight and will help us target support in this area,” says Lani.

Following the release of the refreshed data the Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation will continue analysing the data and will release their annual report later in the year with key insights and areas of interest.

For more information about the OHI Data Navigator data refresh see The data inside the Navigator - OHI Data Navigator