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Canterbury Region

This section provides people and indicator data for Canterbury.

Download Canterbury data in Excel format - 124kb

People data for Canterbury Region

Ethnicity by age, proportion in the area and sex: Census 2006, Estimated population change, births, deaths and natural increase from 1996, Projected population change, Household composition
Indicator data for Canterbury Region

Health: Life expectancy, Cigarette smoking, Suicide

Knowledge and Skills: Participation in early childhood education, School leavers with higher qualifications, Educational attainment of the adult population

Paid Work: Unemployment rate, Employment rate, Median hourly earnings, Workplace injury claims

Economic Standard of Living: Population with low incomes, Household crowding

Civil and Political Rights: Voter turnout - local authority elections, Representation of women in local government

Cultural Identity: Māori language speakers, Language retention

Leisure and Recreation: Participation in physical activity

Physical Environment: Drinking water quality

Safety: Recorded criminal offences, Road casualties

Social Connectedness: Telephone and internet access in the home, Contact between young people and their parents

People data for Canterbury

Ethnicity by age, proportion in the area and sex: Census 2006

Ethnicity European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Age Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
0 - 14 89,325 19.5 13,014 35.5 4,086 37.4 5,874 20.1 1,011 29.0 102,489 19.6
15 - 24 58,122 12.7 7,020 19.1 2,142 19.6 8,013 27.5 681 19.5 72,420 13.9
25 - 44 124,068 27.1 10,101 27.5 2,889 26.4 9,531 32.7 1,230 35.2 145,071 27.8
45 - 64 116,826 25.6 5,316 14.5 1,494 13.7 4,710 16.1 492 14.1 129,231 24.8
65 - 74 34,800 7.6 870 2.4 228 2.1 732 2.5 51 1.5 37,149 7.1
75+ 34,005 7.4 339 0.9 87 0.8 309 1.1 24 0.7 35,463 6.8
Total 457,140 100.0 36,669 100.0 10,923 100.0 29,172 100.0 3,492 100.0 521,832 100.0
Ethnic % in the area 90.0 7.2 2.1 5.7 0.7 102.7
Sex
Male 222,126 48.6 18,453 50.3 5,586 51.1 13,623 46.7 1,866 53.4 254,685 48.8
Female 235,011 51.4 18,216 49.7 5,340 48.9 15,549 53.3 1,623 46.5 267,147 51.2
    100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0

Estimated population change, births, deaths and natural increase from 1996

Year Estimated resident
population at June 		Population change Registered births
December year		 Registered deaths
December year		 Natural increase
December year
Number %
1996 480,400  -  - 6,249 4,001 2,248
1997 485,400 5,000 1.0 6,333 3,806 2,527
1998 488,800 3,400 0.7 5,892 3,625 2,267
1999 491,200 2,400 0.5 6,196 3,904 2,292
2000 493,600 2,400 0.5 6,177 3,637 2,540
2001 496,700 3,100 0.6 6,243 3,830 2,413
2002 505,100 8,400 1.7 5,901 3,975 1,926
2003 515,400 10,300 2.0 6,258 3,869 2,389
2004 524,700 9,300 1.8 6,631 4,178 2,453
2005 531,800 7,100 1.4 6,605 3,816 2,789
2006 540,000 8,200 1.5 6,777 4,016 2,761
2007 546,900 6,900 1.3 7,547 4,107 3,440
2008 552,900 6,000 1.1 7,284 4,016 3,268

Projected population change

Variant Population at 30 June Change 2006 - 2031
2006 2011 2016 2021 2026 2031 Number %
High   578,400 612,700 644,700 675,400 704,600 164,600 30.0
Medium 540,000 566,000 587,900 607,400 625,100 641,000 101,000 19.0
Low   553,500 563,200 570,400 575,900 579,100 39,100 7.0

Household composition

Household composition 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Couples with children 57,039 37.9 54,021 33.8 53,436 31.1 51,165 28.0 56,439 28.5
Couples without children 38,271 25.4 42,567 26.6 48,960 28.5 52,593 28.8 58,929 29.8
Multi-family 987 0.7 1,395 0.9 2,463 1.4 1,926 1.1 3,054 1.5
One parent family 13,986 9.3 16,551 10.4 17,682 10.3 20,091 11.0 20,508 10.4
One person 31,080 20.6 35,361 22.1 39,108 22.8 46,401 25.4 48,252 24.4
Other multi-person 9,183 6.1 9,924 6.2 10,209 5.9 10,434 5.7 10,809 5.5
Total 150,543 100.0 159,816 100.0 171,858 100.0 182,610 100.0 197,991 100.0
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Indicator data for Canterbury

Health

Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth indicates the total number of years a person could expect to live, based on the mortality rates of the population at each age in a given year or period.

Indicator 1990 - 1992 1995 - 1997 2000 - 2002 2005 - 2007
Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female
Life expectancy at birth (years) 73.2 79.4 75.0 80.4 77.0 82.2 79.0 82.6

Cigarette smoking

The proportion (%) of the population in the area aged 15 years and over who currently smoke cigarettes.

The age-standardised prevalence (%) of cigarette smoking by sex
Year Male Female Total
Number % Number % Number %
1981 49,620 32.5 41,922 27.3 91,536 29.8
1996 38,676 23.4 36,633 21.7 75,306 22.5
2006 38,394 21.8 35,838 19.3 74,232 20.5
The age-specific prevalence (%) of cigarette smoking (not age-standardised)
Year 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+
Number % Number % Number % Number %
1981 22,575 29.3 36,567 33.0 24,954 30.5 7,440 16.3
1996 16,761 25.3 34,803 26.2 18,129 19.9 5,613 9.6
2006 15,450 23.0 32,718 24.1 21,180 17.5 4,884 7.3
The age-standardised prevalence (%) of cigarette smoking by ethnicity 2006
Sex European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Male 28,242 21.7 4,209 35.9 1,047 32.2 2,088 20.1 5,130 18.0 38,400 21.8
Female 28,542 20.2 4,803 40.2 873 26.0 705 5.4 4,173 16.0 35,835 19.3
Total 56,778 20.9 9,009 38.2 1,917 28.7 2,790 11.8 9,306 17.0 74,232 20.5

Suicide

The number of suicide deaths per 100,000 population, and the number of hospitalisations for intentional self-harm per 100,000 population, expressed as an age-standardised rate for the population aged 5 years and over.

Suicide deaths and hospitalisation for intentional self-harm
Sex 2002 - 2006
Suicide deaths Hospitalisations
Number Rate per 100,000 Number Rate per 100,000
Male 247 16.7 758 55.9
Female 86 5.7 1,599 122.4
Total 333 11.0 2,357 89.0
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Knowledge and Skills

Participation in early childhood education

The number of 3 and 4 year olds enrolled in early childhood centres or home-based education programmes as a proportion of all 3 and 4 year olds and the number and proportion of Year 1 students who indicated they have attended some form of early childhood education.

"Apparent" participation rate, 3 and 4 year olds (numbers can add to more than 100%)
Year Participation rate % Number enrolled
3 year 4 year Total 3 year 4 year Total
2001 99 106 102 6,342 6,881 13,223
2002 100 108 104 6,239 7,028 13,267
2003 105 107 106 6,661 6,958 13,619
2004 98 112 105 6,354 7,267 13,621
2005 104 110 107 6,673 7,222 13,895
2006 105 110 108 6,850 7,105 13,955
2007 103 108 106 7,080 7,151 14,231
2008 104 111 108 7,060 7,649 14,709
Early childhood attendance by Year 1 students, by ethnic group
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
2000 5,376 96.8 497 96.1 138 87.3 135 87.7 36 92.3 6,186 96.3
2001 5,183 97.2 560 93.6 143 92.9 166 89.7 33 84.6 6,093 96.3
2002 5,196 97.9 587 95.1 140 92.7 167 92.8 54 88.5 6,162 97.2
2003 5,190 97.8 671 97.0 161 95.8 241 94.9 72 97.3 6,359 97.5
2004 5,126 98.1 692 96.2 160 96.4 222 94.9 81 94.2 6,311 97.6
2005 5,245 98.3 753 96.3 185 94.4 275 98.6 92 93.9 6,573 97.9
2006 5,109 98.7 741 97.5 178 94.2 249 98.0 71 91.0 6,348 98.3
2007 4,955 98.9 736 97.5 188 93.5 242 98.4 127 96.2 6,248 98.5
2008 4,881 99.2 799 98.2 210 94.2 294 96.1 125 96.2 6,309 98.7

School leavers with higher qualifications

The proportion of school leavers who had attained a qualification at National Certificate of Educational Attainment (NCEA) Level 2 or above, and the proportion who leave with Bursary and above.

School leavers with higher qualifications, by sex
Year NCEA Level 2 or higher Bursary or higher
Sex (%) Total Sex (%) Total
Male Female Number % Male Female Number %
2005 52.9 63.2 3,958 58.1 26.9 37.2 2,187 32.1
2006 56.9 68.3 3,998 62.5 31.5 45.8 2,459 38.5
2007 62.6 74.3 4,621 68.4 33.5 46.7 2,705 40.0
School leavers with higher qualifications, by ethnicity
NCEA Level 2 or higher
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
2005 3,330 60.7 199 29.6 73 43.5 284 77.8 72 55.4 3,958 58.1
2006 3,328 65.4 228 35.3 74 38.1 316 81.9 52 61.9 3,998 62.5
2007 3,802 70.6 305 46.3 103 55.1 352 80.5 59 66.3 4,621 68.4
Bursary or higher
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
2005 1,851 33.8 81 12.1 23 13.7 201 55.1 31 23.8 2,187 32.1
2006 2,045 40.2 92 14.3 32 16.5 257 66.6 33 39.3 2,459 38.5
2007 2,232 41.4 135 20.5 37 19.8 269 61.6 32 36.0 2,705 40.0

Educational attainment of the adult population 25-64

The proportion of adults aged 25–64 years with an educational attainment of at least upper secondary school level and the proportion of adults with at least tertiary qualifications.

At least upper secondary, by age and sex ("..s" indicates numbers below 1,000)
Year Male Female 25 - 44 45 - 64 Total 25 - 64
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 69,700 64.8 54,600 50.4 83,000 63.8 41,300 48.2 124,200 57.6
1991 80,500 72.8 77,500 66.9 104,900 76.4 53,100 59.6 158,000 69.8
1996 94,000 77.1 89,600 73.0 118,200 80.8 65,400 66.6 183,600 75.1
2001 109,300 79.8 107,700 76.7 128,900 83.2 88,100 71.9 216,900 78.2
2002 110,300 80.0 110,300 77.7 123,700 83.0 96,900 74.0 220,600 78.8
2003 114,000 80.3 112,500 77.2 126,900 83.0 99,600 73.8 226,500 78.7
2004 118,700 80.0 114,700 75.4 138,400 82.1 94,900 72.0 233,300 77.7
2005 133,100 81.1 130,300 78.4 159,700 85.1 103,700 72.8 263,400 79.8
2006 126,400 79.5 124,300 76.1 149,200 83.7 101,500 70.5 250,600 77.8
2007 123,200 78.6 126,100 75.6 145,000 82.4 104,400 70.7 249,300 77.1
2008 128,500 78.3 132,800 77.0 144,100 81.7 117,200 73.2 261,300 77.6
At least tertiary, by age and sex ("..s" indicates numbers below 1,000)
Year Male Female 25 - 44 45 - 64 Total 25 - 64
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 8,000 7.5 4,600 4.3 9,100 7.0 3,500 4.1 12,600 5.9
1991 11,100 10.1 7,400 6.4 13,500 9.8 5,100 5.7 18,500 8.2
1996 13,100 10.7 11,000 8.9 16,800 11.5 7,200 7.3 24,000 9.8
2001 20,900 15.3 16,800 12.0 24,100 15.6 13,700 11.2 37,700 13.6
2002 20,500 14.9 17,000 12.0 22,400 15.1 15,100 11.5 37,600 13.4
2003 21,800 15.3 19,900 13.6 25,500 16.7 16,100 12.0 41,700 14.5
2004 26,200 17.7 23,700 15.6 33,000 19.6 16,900 12.8 49,900 16.6
2005 32,000 19.5 31,500 18.9 44,500 23.7 18,900 13.3 63,500 19.2
2006 28,300 17.8 30,100 18.4 40,700 22.9 17,600 12.3 58,400 18.1
2007 31,200 19.9 33,800 20.3 43,800 24.9 21,100 14.3 65,000 20.1
2008 33,900 20.7 34,600 20.1 45,900 26.0 22,600 14.1 68,500 20.4
At least upper secondary, by ethnicity ("..s" indicates numbers below 1,000) 
Year European Māori Pacific Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 117,500 58.5 1,900 34.3 ..s ..s 4,100 53.0 124,200 57.6
1991 149,400 70.5 4,300 53.1 2,200 59.8 2,000 78.6 158,000 69.8
1996 168,300 76.2 6,200 53.6 1,700 64.5 7,300 80.3 183,600 75.1
2001 192,800 78.5 8,700 68.0 1,800 48.8 13,600 89.3 216,900 78.2
2002 191,400 79.5 9,900 66.4 3,500 63.5 15,700 84.2 220,600 78.8
2003 195,400 79.2 10,200 66.4 3,800 67.9 16,900 85.0 226,500 78.7
2004 204,200 78.8 10,800 65.0 3,200 65.4 15,000 77.4 233,300 77.7
2005 230,300 80.5 12,600 66.6 2,300 58.1 18,100 85.1 263,400 79.8
2006 218,700 79.2 11,400 61.8 3,500 57.0 16,900 79.4 250,600 77.8
2007 213,500 79.0 15,100 67.3 2,100 39.5 18,000 72.6 249,300 77.1
2008 221,700 79.0 15,500 71.0 2,600 48.6 21,100 75.4 261,300 77.6
At least tertiary, by ethnicity ("..s" indicates numbers below 1,000) 
Year European Māori Pacific Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 11,900 5.9 ..s ..s ..s ..s ..s ..s 12,600 5.9
1991 17,600 8.3 ..s ..s ..s ..s ..s ..s 18,500 8.2
1996 21,000 9.5 ..s ..s ..s ..s 2,500 27.7 24,000 9.8
2001 31,600 12.9 ..s ..s ..s ..s 5,100 33.6 37,700 13.6
2002 30,100 12.5 ..s ..s ..s ..s 6,000 32.2 37,600 13.4
2003 33,400 13.5 ..s ..s 1,000 18.5 6,600 33.2 41,700 14.5
2004 40,600 15.6 1,000 6.1 ..s ..s 7,300 37.7 49,900 16.6
2005 52,800 18.5 1,200 6.4 ..s ..s 9,000 42.4 63,500 19.2
2006 49,000 17.7 1,200 6.4 ..s ..s 7,500 35.3 58,400 18.1
2007 53,000 19.6 1,700 7.4 ..s ..s 9,800 39.7 65,000 20.1
2008 54,800 19.5 2,500 11.3 ..s ..s 10,600 38.0 68,500 20.4
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Paid Work

Unemployment ('..s' indicates numbers below 1,000)

The number of people aged 15 years and over who are not employed and who are actively seeking and available for paid work, expressed as a percentage of the total labour force.

Year 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 Male Female Total 15+
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 5,300 8.3 3,300 3.1 ..s ..s 4,200 3.2 5,200 5.5 9,500 4.2
1991 8,600 16.6 8,900 8.0 3,100 5.5 11,600 9.2 9,100 9.4 20,600 9.3
1996 6,400 11.3 5,800 4.8 3,300 4.7 8,500 6.1 7,100 6.2 15,600 6.2
2001 6,400 13.0 5,600 4.3 3,300 3.4 7,900 5.1 7,500 6.0 15,400 5.5
2002 5,900 10.6 5,100 4.0 3,400 3.3 8,200 5.1 6,400 4.9 14,600 5.0
2003 4,900 8.4 5,000 3.8 2,800 2.6 6,400 3.9 6,200 4.5 12,600 4.2
2004 5,500 9.0 4,300 3.0 2,200 2.0 5,900 3.4 6,100 4.2 12,000 3.7
2005 5,200 8.9 3,700 2.2 1,200 1.1 5,300 2.9 4,900 3.1 10,200 3.0
2006 4,900 7.7 3,500 2.3 1,700 1.4 5,400 3.0 4,900 3.1 10,300 3.0
2007 4,300 6.8 3,400 2.3 2,300 1.9 4,900 2.7 5,100 3.2 10,000 3.0
2008 5,600 8.9 3,200 2.1 2,300 1.8 6,600 3.5 4,600 2.8 11,200 3.1

Employment rate (% - '..s' indicates numbers below 1,000)

The proportion of the population aged 15–64 years who are in paid employment for at least one hour per week.

Year 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+ Male Female Total
15-64 15-64 15-64
1986 69.4 79.1 63.6 4.8 85.0 59.1 72.0
1991 59.1 74.1 59.9 4.9 75.8 56.8 66.2
1996 64.1 79.6 68.7 5.8 79.6 65.6 72.6
2001 60.5 80.7 75.6 8.9 82.2 67.4 74.8
2002 63.2 80.8 76.9 10.1 82.3 68.7 75.5
2003 64.1 81.5 76.8 10.6 82.3 69.6 75.9
2004 63.7 83.1 79.8 12.0 83.6 71.7 77.6
2005 62.3 85.2 80.9 10.5 83.8 74.2 79.0
2006 68.2 82.6 80.1 11.2 84.4 73.0 78.7
2007 67.4 82.7 78.7 11.9 84.5 71.8 78.0
2008 60.4 82.6 81.4 13.8 82.8 71.9 77.3

Median hourly earnings ($)

Real median hourly earnings from all wages and salaries for employees earning income from wage and salary jobs, as measured by the New Zealand Income Survey.

Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Total 15.8 16.4 16.3 16.1 16.3 16.4 17.1 17.8 17.7 18.3 18.2

Workplace injury claims

The number of workplace accident insurance claims reported to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) per 1,000 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), excluding those employees who received accident and emergency treatment only.

December year Number of claims % of claims by sex Rate per
1,000 FTEs
Male Female Total Male Female
2002 26,047 9,535 35,582 73.2 26.8 145.5
2003 27,105 10,251 37,356 72.6 27.4 147.6
2004 27,182 10,092 37,274 72.9 27.1 136.2
2005 26,513 9,872 36,385 72.9 27.1 121.9
2006 24,770 9,561 34,331 72.2 27.8 118.5
2007 24,300 9,400 33,800 71.9 27.8 118.0
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Economic Standard of Living

Population with low incomes

The proportion of people living in households with gross real income less than 60% of the median equivalised national income benchmarked at 2001.

Population with low incomes, by ethnicity
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 62,985 19.2 3,927 27.3 1,056 32.8 1,011 28.5 126 29.4 68,229 19.7
1991 91,251 27.0 6,441 39.7 1,854 47.6 1,749 34.7 183 36.1 99,570 27.7
1996 80,925 23.1 7,431 32.1 1,794 36.0 4,428 43.7 627 46.3 91,071 24.1
2001 68,694 19.8 6,837 30.1 1,716 32.3 5,748 44.9 705 43.6 80,031 21.2
2006 63,951 16.6 6,171 22.2 1,734 24.1 8,355 39.0 804 30.7 77,196 18.2
Population with low incomes, by age
Year 0 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+ Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 18,753 24.8 6,531 11.3 14,127 14.2 11,772 16.7 17,049 39.1 68,229 19.7
1991 23,550 32.1 10,647 19.2 20,649 19.1 18,279 25.0 26,442 54.2 99,570 27.7
1996 23,178 29.4 10,419 20.1 19,311 16.7 15,390 19.2 22,776 44.3 91,071 24.1
2001 21,438 26.9 9,060 20.1 16,893 15.0 14,196 16.0 18,441 36.4 80,031 21.2
2006 17,220 19.9 9,420 17.6 13,977 11.6 14,460 13.4 22,125 38.8 77,196 18.2
Population with low incomes, by sex
Year Male Female
Number % Number %
1986 29,991 17.7 38,238 21.6
1991 43,305 24.7 56,262 30.6
1996 39,714 21.5 51,357 26.7
2001 34,335 18.7 45,693 23.7
2006 34,728 16.7 42,468 19.5

Household crowding

The proportion of the population living in crowded housing (ie requiring one or more additional bedrooms, as defined by the Canadian Crowding Index).

Household crowding, by ethnicity
Year European Māori Pacific Asian Other Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 28,413 7.6 3,759 21.2 1,536 35.3 894 21.0 102 19.5 34,569 8.5
1991 24,855 6.5 4,041 20.4 1,836 34.8 1,284 20.0 111 18.5 32,208 7.7
1996 19,449 4.9 4,570 15.9 2,336 32.2 2,296 16.5 393 24.2 28,032 6.3
2001 14,196 3.6 3,774 13.2 2,103 27.7 2,568 14.5 447 20.9 22,650 5.0
2006 15,777 3.7 4,731 14.0 3,198 31.9 4,158 15.2 579 17.9 27,489 5.6
Household crowding, by age
Year 0 - 9 10 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+ Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1986 5,604 9.8 4,134 11.8 11,616 16.4 8,397 7.1 4,236 5.3 579 1.3 34,569 8.5
1991 6,252 10.6 3,165 10.6 10,041 14.7 8,733 6.8 3,450 4.2 567 1.1 32,208 7.7
1996 6,540 10.4 2,666 8.9 7,340 10.9 8,033 5.9 2,910 3.1 543 1.0 28,032 6.3
2001 5,106 8.2 2,622 8.0 5,421 9.0 6,345 4.7 2,634 2.5 522 0.9 22,650 5.0
2006 5,769 8.9 2,979 8.5 7,299 10.8 7,368 5.3 3,432 2.8 642 1.0 27,489 5.6
Household crowding, by sex
Year Male Female
Number % Number %
1986 17,577 8.8 16,986 8.3
1991 16,239 7.9 15,966 7.5
1996 13,786 6.3 14,246 6.3
2001 11,016 5.0 11,634 5.0
2006 13,596 5.6 13,893 5.5
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Civil and Political Rights

Voter turnout - local authority elections

The proportion of all enrolled electors (both resident and ratepayer) who cast a vote in local authority elections for regional councils.

Election year 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007
Voter turnout (%) 64.0 54.0 51.0 56.0 52.0 43.0 44.0

Representation of women in government

The proportion of female candidates and elected members of regional councils in local authority elections.

Election activity 2001 2004 2007
For Council For Council For Council
Number % Number % Number %
Women candidates 4 13.0 12 35.0 13 36.0
Women voted in 3 21.0 5 36.0 5 36.0
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Cultural Identity

Māori language speakers

The number of Māori who can hold a conversation about everyday things in Māori, as a proportion of the Māori population, and the total number of Māori speakers as a proportion of the total population.

Speakers of Māori 0 - 14 15 - 29 30 - 49 50 - 64 65+ Total
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
1996 Māori 1,437 13.1 1,578 16.8 1,419 18.6 609 27.7 162 19.7 5,199 16.8
  Total population 2,079 2.2 2,643 2.5 2,130 1.5 870 1.3 264 0.4 7,977 1.7
2001 Māori 1,578 13.5 1,653 19.5 1,575 19.3 690 27.7 219 26.3 5,709 18.0
  Total population 2,295 2.4 2,748 2.9 2,364 1.6 1,053 1.4 357 0.5 8,829 1.8
2006 Māori 1,410 10.8 1,707 17.7 1,734 18.3 819 24.4 312 25.8 5,979 16.3
  Total population 1,890 1.8 2,547 2.5 2,547 1.7 1,263 1.4 456 0.6 8,697 1.7

Language retention

The proportion of people who can speak the "first language" (excluding English) of their ethnic group, for ethnic groups (other than Māori) with an established resident population in New Zealand.

Indicator Born in NZ Overseas born Total
2001 2006 2001 2006 2001 2006
Language retention 29.3 28.7 79.5 78.8 62.5 63.4
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Leisure and Recreation

Participation in physical activity (for Canterbury/Westland combined)

The proportion of the population aged 16 years and over who met physical activity guidelines (ie were physically active for at least 30 minutes a day on five or more days over the last week), as measured by the 2007/2008 Active New Zealand Survey.

Year Participation (%)
2007/2008 53.0
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Physical Environment

Drinking water quality (can be more than 100% and highly variable)

The proportion of the estimated resident population who receive their water from community water supplies whose drinking water complies with either the 2000 or 2005 Drinking-water standards for New Zealand relating to E. coli and Cryptosporidium.

Year E. coli (%) Cryptosporidium (%)
2001 14.5 59.2
2002 70.5 58.3
2003 73.6 62.7
2004 69.8 65.0
2005 76.8 64.2
2006/2007 90.8 66.8
2007/2008 90.5 63.2
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Safety

Recorded criminal offences

The total number of recorded criminal offences and the recorded criminal offence rate per 10,000 population.

Year Number Rate per 10,000
1999 52,692 1,072
2000 49,441 1,001
2001 49,604 998
2002 50,083 991
2003 51,416 997
2004 49,195 937
2005 45,470 854
2006 47,484 878
2007 48,387 884
2008 51,890 938

Road casualties

The number of people injured or killed in motor vehicle crashes per 100,000 of the total population.

Year Injuries Deaths
Number Rate per 100,000 Rate per 100,000
2001 1,594 322.2 9.3
2002 1,565 310.8 8.9
2003 1,584 309.0 10.5
2004 1,476 283.5 8.6
2005 1,606 305.1 8.4
2006 1,769 332.0 6.8
2007 2,099 383.8 10.2
2008 1,908 345.1 8.7
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Social Connectedness

Telephone and internet access in the home

The proportion of the population with telephone and internet access in the home.

Telephone access (%)
Year Ethnicity Sex Age Total
European Māori Pacific Asian Other Male Female 0 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+
1996 97.8 91.1 84.5 97.6 95.9 96.9 97.6 96.6 96.5 97.1 98.0 98.4 97.3
2001 98.4 93.1 90.4 97.8 96.9 97.7 98.3 97.7 97.3 97.7 98.5 98.7 98.0
2006 99.1 97.0 96.6 98.7 99.0 98.7 99.1 99.0 98.6 98.9 99.0 99.1 98.9
Internet access (%)
Year Ethnicity Sex Age Total
European Māori Pacific Asian Other Male Female 0 - 14 15 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 64 65+
2001 43.2 31.2 21.7 64.3 57.4 44.9 42.1 50.0 49.3 48.0 44.7 13.8 43.5
2006 69.9 56.7 42.9 79.1 75.5 70.3 68.5 77.1 72.7 74.6 72.5 36.5 69.4

Contact between young people and their parents (please read notes before use)

The proportion of secondary school students (in Years 9–14, aged 18 years or younger) reporting that most weeks they spent enough time with their parents (2007).

Indicator Male Female
Spend enough time with parents (%) 64.0 53.0
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