Upsurge in demand for Statistics NZ products

Statistics products worth more than four million dollars have so far been given away under Budget 2007 programme.

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Statistics Minister Clayton Cosgrove said he is expecting a strong uptake of population data when it becomes available at no charge tomorrow, based on the positive reaction to the first statistical products to be made free under a Budget 2007 initiative.

In May Mr Cosgrove announced that a large range of Statistics New Zealand "user pay" products will progressively become free in the 2007/2008 financial year. The first products released under the Making More Information Freely Available programme were Digital Boundaries files on CD and StreetLink files by email, in July.

Mr Cosgrove said twice as many CDs have been given away in the past six weeks compared with what Statistics New Zealand sold in the past three and a half years and demand for the StreetLink files has increased ten-fold. The value of all those products, had they been sold at the price previously charged for them, is around $4 million.

"Statistics New Zealand has provided around 250 copies of Digital Boundaries CDs and 75 StreetLink files since they became freely available," Mr Cosgrove said. "This is a fantastic result, which will support the Labour-led government's goal to propel the further economic transformation of the economy.

From 28 August, Statistics New Zealand's Area Unit Population Estimates - which offer very localised information - will be downloadable off the Internet for free. "Population estimates for all 1,927 area units covering New Zealand, each of which is about the size of a suburb, are the most up-to-date estimates available of an area's population and are calculated annually," Mr Cosgrove said. "Including breakdowns of age-group and sex, these area unit estimates are useful tools for business planning purposes such as deciding where to locate a retail outlet or how best to allocate franchise areas."

Population estimates are used by businesses wanting to identify the size and characteristics of potential markets, and by central and local governments wanting to better plan for the provision of social services and other amenities.

"The government is committed to propelling further business growth and to lowering the costs faced by local and regional governments. We also recognise the imperative to lower financial barriers that can stand between companies and high-quality information," Mr Cosgrove said. "The initiative is also about giving back the information collected by Statistics New Zealand, so that communities and businesses can make informed decisions based on robust data."

Until now, the average cost for a typical customised request for population estimates for an area unit was upwards of $200. Area unit population estimates will be available free to download from Statistics New Zealand's website at: www.stats.govt.nz/products-and-services/table-builder

Mr Cosgrove said other Statistics New Zealand products will continue to be rolled out under the Making More Information Freely Available programme over the next 12 months or so. The next product to be made freely available will be the Quarterly Regional Review on 21 September.