People
Population today
The total population of the Canterbury region in 2001 was 423,603 – 11.33% of the population of New Zealand. Some 79% of residents lived in the Christchurch urban area, which had a population of 334,107. Close to 90% lived in Christchurch City or on the city’s fringes in the Waimakariri and Selwyn districts.
Most of the region has very low population densities. Between 1996 and 2001 the populations of all the districts in Canterbury grew, but those parts of Waimakariri and Selwyn close to Christchurch increased fastest. In other districts and Christchurch City, growth was below the national rate.
Chinese in Christchurch
Christchurch’s sizeable Chinese community includes descendants of 19th- and 20th-century immigrants, and more recent arrivals from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South-East Asia. They embrace both Chinese and New Zealand culture: for instance, the Taiwanese have formed a writers’ association whose members write in Chinese, and translate New Zealand works into Chinese.
Population in the past
Canterbury’s population first boomed between 1871 and 1881. There was a second spurt from 1955 to 1970. During the 20th century the population trebled. By the early 2000s the proportion of urban dwellers (in Christchurch, Rangiora, Kaiapoi and Ashburton) had grown to more than 90%. The rural population as a whole was steady until 1941, but then fell and has not recovered.
Māori and other ethnic groups
Canterbury’s population is still more European than in most North Island regions. In New Zealand as a whole in 2001, 80.1% of the population identified themselves as European. Canterbury’s 91.2% is significantly higher. In Ashburton district alone, 95.5% identify as European.
Most Māori, Asian and Pacific people of the region live in or near Christchurch. The proportion of Asians is about the same as the national figure, but the proportion of Māori and Pacific people is much lower:
- Asians are 5.7% of the city’s population, compared with 6.6% of the national population
- Māori are 7.1% , compared with 14.7%
- Pacific people are 2.5%, compared with 6.5%.
Between 1981 and 2004 the proportion of Māori and Asians grew. And by 2004 there were 3,000 Muslims from 35 countries living in Christchurch.
Age, education and wealth
Through the 20th century, compared to the rest of the country, Christchurch people were older, better educated and enjoyed a higher level of home ownership and lower mortgage debt.
Median incomes are close to the national figure except that in Selwyn, where they are significantly higher. In the region, unemployment in 2001 was below the national average, largely because of high levels of employment in farming areas. But in Christchurch unemployment was close to the national average.
