5. Computers in Homes
The figures used in this section are taken from the annual Household Economics Survey conducted by Statistics New Zealand. This survey assesses each household in a sample of 3000 over a 12 month period ending in March. It is therefore reasonable to attach the figures to a March year end.
The following chart shows the percentage of homes with a computer (mains operated with keyboard):
The chart shows that in March 1998, 32.9% of New Zealand homes had a mains-operated computer. The percentage of households with a computer has continued to rise at about 14% per year since the question was first asked in the survey in 1985-86. The dotted line extends the curve to March 1999 assuming the 14% growth rate for the past 12 months, giving a projected figure of about 38%. Note that the survey does not distinguish between households with only one computer and those with more than one.
In addition to home computers, the survey also asks about the availability of a number of other electronic amenities. The following table shows the percentage of households responding to the survey that reported the presence of a range of these amenities in 1997 and 1998.
| Amenity in dwelling | Percentage of Households |
|---|
| | 1997 | 1998 |
|---|
| Clothes Washing Machine | 97.7 | 97.7 |
|---|
| Colour Television | 96.6 | 97.2 |
|---|
| Telephone | 95.9 | 96.0 |
|---|
| Video Recorder | 81.3 | 79.3 |
|---|
| Microwave Oven | 77.2 | 80.0 |
|---|
| Dishwasher | 31.8 | 33.3 |
|---|
| Home Computer | 27.6 | 32.9 |
|---|
| Cellular Phone | 18.0 | 21.3 |
|---|
| Subscriber TV Decoder | 15.6 | 19.7 |
|---|
The graph below gives the percent of households owning the lower four of these amenities from 1990 to 1998. The number of households with a computer is now roughly equal to the number owning a dishwasher. After flattening a little last year, the percentage of households with a subscriber TV decoder continues to grow rapidly.
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