As a whole, rural New Zealanders are not deprived relative to the urban population, but the differences within New Zealand's rural population are as great if not greater than those among the urban population. A summary of studies on the pattern of social stratification reveals: (1) there is little tradition in New Zealand of separation of land ownership from farm operation with proprietorship being four times greater in the countryside; (2) agriculture dominates male employment in rural areas and in both urban and rural areas about 55% of the male workforce is manually employed; (3) 1971 census information on Canterbury Province shows the mean male income to be similar in rural and urban areas, though the spread of income level is greater in the country; (4) the educational level attained by rural residents compares favorably to that of urban residents; (5) a North Canterbury survey of female views on rural life indicates satisfaction among the majority with rural residence, increased satisfaction with distance from town, a higher preference for rural location among the entrepreneurial than the manual group (groups based on reference to husband's occupation), little influence of rural "disadvantages" on the preference for rural residence, and differences between the entrepreneurial and manual groups' perceptions of rural residence benefits and sense of "community". (JC)