The ANZF's Perceptions of Asia and Asian Peoples tracking survey has tested New Zealander's knowledge annually for the past 20 years. This year, ANZF's tracking survey showed that Kiwis could answer, on average, only two out of six general knowledge questions correctly.



New Zealand has changed significantly since the first survey was carried out in 1997. One prominent feature is the growth in population identifying with an Asian ethnicity, from 6 percent in 2001 to an estimated 15 percent in 2018.


Spokesperson Simon Draper says this doesn't make sense considering China is New Zealand's largest trading partner. "Seven out of our 10 largest trading partners are Asian. Even from a business sense - what's the number one rule in business? Know your customer. How many New Zealand firms know their customers? "


Respondents under 30 did even worse - more than half only got one question right, or got them all wrong. Two-thirds of people said they knew little or nothing about the region.


Mr Draper says youth are missing out because of it. "I had thought that young New Zealanders, just through their online gaming to anime, would have had some exposure to and understanding of Asia."


Young people were also less likely to perceive Asia as being important to New Zealand - somewhat puzzling when they've grown up in a more diverse country than their parents (and are themselves part of a more ethnically diverse generation). ANZF feels that this doesn't bode well for New Zealander's ability to raise global citizens.