The 2006 Census counted 2,381,076 New Zealand Europeans, or 59.1% of those who gave their ethnicity. Most census reports do not separate New Zealand Europeans from the broader European ethnic category, which was the largest broad ethnic category in the 2006 Census. Europeans comprised 67.6 percent of respondents in 2006 compared with 80.1 percent in the 2001 census.^{[4][dead link]} The apparent drop in this figure was due to Statistics New Zealand's acceptance of 'New Zealander' as a distinct response to the ethnicity question and their placement of it within the "Other" ethnic category, along with an email campaign asking people to give it as their ethnicity in the 2006 Census.^[5] In previous censuses, these responses were counted belonging to the New Zealand European group,^[1]and Statistics New Zealand plans to return to this approach for the 2011 Census.^[6] Eleven percent of respondents identified as New Zealanders in the 2006 Census (or as something similar, e.g. "Kiwi"),^[7] well above the trend observed in previous censuses, and higher than the percentage seen in other surveys that year.^[8]

In April 2009, Statistics New Zealand announced a review of their official ethnicity standard, citing this debate as a reason,^[9] and a draft report was released for public comment. In response, the New Zealand Herald opined that the decision to leave the question unchanged in 2011 and rely on public information efforts was "rather too hopeful", and advocated a return to something like the 1986 approach. This asked people which of several identities "apply to you", instead of the more recent question "What ethnic group do you belong to?"^[10]

^{-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_European}

^{This is quite interesting. I feel like there really something is in the debate about who is a kiwi. As opposed to a 'New Zealand European.'}