Template talk:NZ population data 2018 SA2

2023 changes

Many minor changes occurred to SA2 boundaries for the 2023 census, a few major ones such as new SA2 areas being created, and some SA2s changed names. Some urban areas have been merged into larger ones or have disappeared. The 2023 census data is expected to be available from March 2024. In the meantime, new data for this template table, and its corresponding table {{NZ population data 2018}}, used the old boundaries in the October 2022 update, but has switched to using the 2023 boundaries in the October 2023 update.

While for most articles the boundaries don't change and we can update those where the name changes, as I did for Burwood, for the major boundary changes the articles would either show an updated population for a different area to the one in the 2018 demographics, or we change to freeze the 2022 update figures for those (ie hard code the 2022 population figures) instead of using this template. An example I've completed is at Marsden Bay. Another example I have not yet tackled is at Kaukapakapa, where what was Te Kuru statistical area is now expanded to Kaukapakapa Rural. We would also need to freeze the figures for the SA2s that the new area now takes territory from. For minor changes in boundaries, it will be more difficult to spot the change in order to add the freeze.

I suggest we rollback the changes for these two templates to the 2022 update, and roll back the changes I and Lcmortensen have done to accommodate them, to save ourselves a lot of work and to avoid having articles with inconsistent data, error messages or misleading data (e.g. 2023 population with 2022 area data) in the interim.

In March 2024 I suggest we make a new pair of templates and apply them with the 2023 census demographics to all articles - something I am already planning. It will take me a couple of years, hence it would be appropriate to keep the 2022 data available during the transition period.

I've mainly looked at the SA2 changes. It may be that the urban settlements in {{NZ population data 2018}} will need less work and some of that work has already been done. Can I have quick feedback from @Lcmortensen and Pppery: please.-gadfium 02:41, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

Sounds reasonable from a quick glance, but I don't really care what you do here as long as you don't produce blaring red errors in articles. * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 02:49, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

The mapping between the 2022 and 2023 data is available here There are around 37 direct name changes and nearly 1000 boundary changes. I suggest we roll back {{NZ population data 2018 SA2}} to 2022 data and create a new template {{NZ population data 2023}} for all the 2023 SA2 boundaries, which will also eventually replace {{NZ population data 2018}}. Lcmortensen (mailbox) 03:18, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for the prompt feedback. I'll roll back {{NZ population data 2018 SA2}} and revert those changes I made to articles accordingly. I'm not sure combining the two templates as {{NZ population data 2023}} would be appropriate; there is an overlap of names covering non-identical areas, but I would support creation of {{NZ population data SA2 2023}}, and I'll do that in the next few days and use it going forward.-gadfium 03:26, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

Probably agree on the two separate templates. Creating the template is mostly a copy-paste job, it's making all the other articles changes that's going to take time. Then again, we only have to do it every five years. Lcmortensen (mailbox) 03:34, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

All I can say is that you are doing a superb job with maintaining the population data. Ka pai! Schwede66 04:06, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

Tēnā koe e hoa.-gadfium 04:25, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

{{NZ population data 2023 SA2}} is now ready for use. Lcmortensen (mailbox) 07:18, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

I have finished a first pass through articles using this template. I was able to convert just over 1,000 of them to use {{NZ population data 2023 SA2}} instead, but there are almost 290 pages where the area changes were too great, and I have added a hidden note to the Demographics section of each such article saying it cannot be converted to the new template until 2023 census data is available. When I get that data, I'll make updating these 290 pages a priority.-gadfium 03:48, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

A second pass managed to convert most of the remainder to NZ population data 2023 SA2. There are 6 remaining, which are areas which had distinct SA2s in 2018 but have been amalgamated into other areas in 2023.-Gadfium (talk) 03:10, 25 April 2024 (UTC)