Just under 46% of offenders serving community sentences and orders at 31 December 2016 were aged under 30, according to information released by the Department of Corrections.
At 31 December, a total of 34,829 community sentences and orders were being served around the country. An offender may be serving more than one sentence and/or order at any time.
Community sentences and orders being served at 31 December 2016
| District | Sentences | Orders | Total |
| Auckland | 2,047 | 605 | 2,652 |
| Bay of Plenty | 1,654 | 415 | 2,069 |
| Canterbury | 2,934 | 794 | 3,728 |
| East Coast | 1,498 | 495 | 1,993 |
| Manakau | 3,726 | 897 | 4,623 |
| Nelson/ West Coast | 1,018 | 215 | 1,233 |
| Otago | 1,047 | 344 | 1,391 |
| Southland/ Central Otago | 832 | 236 | 1,068 |
| Taitokerau | 1,797 | 532 | 2,329 |
| Taupo/ Rotorua | 1,371 | 422 | 1,793 |
| Waikato | 2,626 | 745 | 3,371 |
| Wairarapa/ Manawatu | 1,397 | 417 | 1,814 |
| Waitemata | 2,418 | 498 | 2,916 |
| Wellington | 1,769 | 454 | 2,223 |
| Whanganui/ Taranaki | 1,276 | 344 | 1,620 |
| Other | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Total | 27,413 | 7,416 | 34,829 |
This was well down on the peak of 46,000 being served in the September 2010 quarter.
The bulk of offenders serving sentences and orders - 40.2% - were aged between 20 to 29.
Age of offenders
| Offender Age | % Total |
| 10 to 19 | 5.4% |
| 20 to 29 | 40.2% |
| 30 to 39 | 26.9% |
| 40 to 49 | 16.4% |
| 50 to 59 | 8.3% |
| 60 to 69 | 2.2% |
| 70 to 79 | 0.4% |
| 80 to 89 | 0.0% |
| Unknown | 0.1% |
The highest proportion of offenders were Māori.
Ethnicity of offenders
| Ethnicity | % Total |
| Māori | 42.9% |
| European | 31.9% |
| Unknown | 13.1% |
| Pacific | 9.1% |
| Other (incl Asian) | 3.0% |
The data also shows that 79.8% of offenders were male, 20.0% were female, 0.1% "indeterminate" and 0.1% unknown.