Information for the ward based on Statistics New Zealand census and population data

To print, expand the drop-down arrows for the topics of interest and then select the printer icon at the top right of this page. 

Historic and current population

Estimated Population of Spreydon and Christchurch City, 2013-2018 (at 30 June annually)
Area 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 % change 2013-2018
Spreydon 24,100 24,300 24,700 25,200 25,600 26,000 7.9%
Christchurch City 356,700 361,900 367,800 375,000 381,500 388,500 8.9%
Note: The estimated resident population at 30 June 2013 differs from the 5 March 2013 census count for the following reasons: The estimate takes into account residents missed by the census (net undercount); it INCLUDES residents temporarily overseas on census night; and it takes into account population change (births, deaths and migration) between March and June of the same year.

Projected population: 2013 to 2043

  • This ward's population is projected to increase from an estimated 24,100 at 30 June 2013 to 28,400 by 30 June 2043. This is an overall increase of 18 percent. 
  • Annual growth since 2013 has been higher than anticipated for this ward, and the estimated 2016 population (25,200) has already exceeded the projected 2018 population (24,700). 
  • For Christchurch City as a whole, the population is projected to increase by 22 percent over the same period, from 356,700 to 436,800.
  • Expand the 'Age' topic heading below to see population projections by age.
  • View projected population data(external link), including by age, for all wards (Excel, 216KB).
Population of Spreydon and Christchurch City: Estimated (2013) and Projected (2018-2043)
Area 2013 2018 2023 2028 2033 2038 2043
Spreydon 24,100 24,700 25,500 26,400 27,100 27,800 28,400
Christchurch City  356,700  379,400  393,100  406,100  417,800  428,000  436,800
Population projections use population estimates (at 30 June 2013) as a starting point, and are an indication of future demographic change based on assumptions about future demographic behaviour. The medium series is considered by Statistics New Zealand to be the most suitable for assessing future population change.

Further information about population data

Population statistics produced by Statistics New Zealand include census counts, population estimates and population projections.

'Frequently asked questions'(external link) provides information on commonly asked questions about population statistics.

Life-cycle age groups

  • The median age in 2013 was 36.8 years for people in Spreydon ward. The median age in Christchurch City was 38.6 years.
  • This ward had a higher proportion of people aged under 40 years than for all of Christchurch City.
  • In this ward, 19% of people were aged under 15 years, 37% were aged 15-39 years, 30% were aged 40-64 years, 9.5% were aged 65-79 years, and 4.5% were aged 80 years and over.
Age Group Estimates, 2013

Age Group Estimates, 2013

Age group projections, 2013(base)-2043

  • The city's population is ageing, and this is apparent in each of the 16 wards in Christchurch.
  • The population aged 65 years and over is projected to increase from 14% to 21% of Spreydon ward's total population between 2013 and 2043.
  • The population aged 0-14 years is projected to decrease from 19% to 16% of the ward's total population between 2013 and 2043.
  • View estimated and projected population data [XLSX, 216 KB], including by age, for all wards (Excel, 216KB)
Projected Age Groups, 2013(base)-2043

Projected Age Groups, 2013(base)-2043

Ethnic groups

  • The most common ethnic group in Spreydon ward is European, with 82 percent of the population identifying with this ethnic group in 2013. This compares with 84 percent for Christchurch City as a whole.
  • The next most common ethnic group in Spreydon ward was Māori (9.8%), followed by Asian (9.5%), Pacific Peoples (5%), 'Other' (1.9%), and MELAA (1.1%). 
  • View detailed ethnicity, birthplace and language data [XLSX, 972 KB] [Excel, 965KB].
Ethnic Groups, 2013

Ethnic Groups, 2013

Note: Includes all people who stated each ethnic group, whether as their only ethnic group or as one of several. Where a person reported more than one ethnic group, they have been counted in each applicable group. As a result percentages do not add up to 100. MELAA = Middle Eastern, Latin American and African. The vast majority of people counted in 'Other Ethnicity' recorded ''New Zealander'' on their census form.

Birthplace

  • 21 percent of people in Spreydon ward were born overseas, compared with 22 percent for Christchurch City as a whole.
  • For people born overseas who are now living in Spreydon ward, the most common birthplace region was the United Kingdom (1,194 people), compared with the United Kingdom for people born overseas in all of Christchurch City.
  • View detailed ethnicity, birthplace and language data [XLSX, 972 KB] [Excel, 965KB].

Languages spoken

  • After English, the next most common languages spoken in Spreydon ward were te reo Māori (495 people), Samoan (426 people), Tagalog (315 people), and French (222).
  • For Christchurch City as a whole, the most common language apart from English is te reo Māori, spoken by 5,943 people (1.8 percent).
  • New Zealand Sign Language is used by 0.6 percent of people in Spreydon ward, compared with 0.6 percent of people for all of Christchurch City.
  • View detailed ethnicity, birthplace and language data [XLSX, 972 KB] [Excel, 965KB].

Total population aged 15 years and over

  • 39 percent of people aged 15 years and over living in Spreydon ward have never married, 41 percent are married, and 19 percent are separated, divorced or widowed.
  • Regardless of legal marital status, 55 percent of this ward's adult population are currently in a relationship, compared with 58 percent for Christchurch City as a whole.

Total population aged 15 years and over

  • In 2013, 78 percent of people aged 15 years and over in Spreydon ward had a formal qualification, compared with 80 percent for Christchurch City as a whole.
  • In Spreydon ward, 19 percent of people aged 15 years and over held a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 21 percent for Christchurch City as a whole.
Highest Qualification (people aged 15 years and over), 2013

Highest Qualification (people aged 15 years and over), 2013

Total population aged 15 years and over

  • In 2013, the unemployment rate in Spreydon ward was 5.5 percent for people aged 15 years and over, compared with 5.1 percent for all of Christchurch City.
  • The most common occupational group in this ward was 'Professionals' (22%), and 'Professionals' was also the most common occupational group in Christchurch City (23%).
  • 12,669 people's place of work was located in Spreydon ward. This equated to 7.9 percent of employed people who had a Christchurch City workplace address, regardless of whether or not they were Christchurch residents.
Occupation (employed people aged 15 years and over), 2013

Occupation (employed people aged 15 years and over), 2013

Personal income

  • For people aged 15 years and over, the median personal income for residents living in Spreydon ward was $29,600 in 2013. This compares with a median of $29,800 for all of Christchurch City.
  • 36 percent of people aged 15 years and over in this ward have an annual income of $20,000 or less, compared with 36 percent of people for Christchurch City as a whole.
  • In Spreydon ward, 24 percent of people aged 15 years and over have an annual income of more than $50,000, compared with 27 percent of people in Christchurch City. 
  • In this ward, 20 percent of people aged 15 years and over are receiving a means tested benefit (or other government transfers excluding superannuation). This compares with 17 percent for Christchurch City as a whole.
Personal Income (people aged 15 years and over), 2013

Personal Income (people aged 15 years and over), 2013

Deprivation

  • NZDep2013(external link) is a good indicator of small area socioeconomic deprivation, and it combines nine variables from the 2013 census.
  • NZDep2013 provides a deprivation score for each meshblock in New Zealand (a meshblock is generally the size of a street block in urban areas, containing approximately 80 people).
  •  The scale of deprivation ranges from 1 to 10:
    • 1 represents the areas with the least deprived scores.
    • 10 represents the areas with the most deprived scores.
    • Nationally, equal proportions of the population (about 10%) live in each decile.
  • Relative to the rest of Christchurch City, Spreydon ward has a higher proportion of people living in areas with mid-point and high deprivation scores.
  • In Spreydon ward, around 17 percent of this ward's population live in the 'most deprived' areas (i.e. deciles 9 and 10), compared with 12 percent of all of Christchurch City's population.
  • Around 10 percent of this ward's population live in the 'least deprived' areas (i.e. deciles 1 and 2), compared with 26 percent of all of Christchurch City's population.
Population by Deprivation Index Decile, 2013

Population by Deprivation Index Decile, 2013

 

Meshblock Deprivation Map, 2013

Meshblock Deprivation Map, 2013

The 2013 deprivation index(external link) is developed by researchers at the University of Otago, and combines nine variables from the 2013 census which reflect dimensions of socio-economic deprivation. Deprivation scores apply to areas rather than individual people. The deprivation index is developed with three principal purposes in mind:
  1. Resource allocation: For example, indexes of deprivation have a long history of being used in capitation funding formulas for primary health care services (the population-based funding formula for District Health Boards) and in funding formulas for social services in other sectors (e.g. school decile rankings).
  2. Research: Indexes of deprivation have application in research in a variety of settings such as health and other social services. For example, in the health sector, many researchers use small-area indexes to describe the relationship between socioeconomic deprivation and health outcomes; increasing levels of deprivation are associated with higher mortality rates, and higher rates of many diseases.
  3. Advocacy: Indexes of deprivation are used by community groups and community-based service providers to describe the populations they serve, and to advocate for extra resources for community-based services. 

Number of private occupied dwellings counted

  • In 2013, there were 8,952 private occupied dwellings in Spreydon ward. This represents 6.9 percent of all the city's private occupied dwellings.
  • This is an increase of 318 occupied dwellings, or 3.7 percent, since the 2006 census.
  • For Christchurch City as a whole, the number of private occupied dwellings decreased from 134,730 in 2006 to 130,430 in 2013, a decrease of 3.2 percent.

Number of unoccupied dwellings counted

  • There were 510 unoccupied dwellings in Spreydon ward. This is an increase of 84 unoccupied dwellings, or 20 percent, since the 2006 census.
  • For Christchurch City as a whole, the number of unoccupied dwellings increased by 88 percent, from 9,440 in 2006 to 17,780 in 2013.

Household composition

  • In 2013, one-family households made up 62 percent of all households in Spreydon ward. For Christchurch City as a whole, one-family households made up 66 percent of all households.
  • In this ward, there were 2,451 one-person households making up 28 percent of all households. In Christchurch City, one-person households made up 26 percent of all households.
  • In total, there were 8,880 households counted in this ward in 2013.
  • The average household size in this ward is 2.5 people, compared with an average of 2.5 people per household for all of Christchurch City.
Household Composition, 2013

Household Composition, 2013

Family type

  • 'Couples with children' made up 39 percent of all families in Spreydon ward, compared with 40 percent of all families for the whole of Christchurch City.
  • 'Couples without child(ren)' made up 42 percent of all families in this ward, compared with 43 percent of all families for the whole of Christchurch City.
  • 'One parent with child(ren)' families made up 19 percent of families in this ward, while this family type made up 17 percent of families for Christchurch City as a whole.
Family Type, 2013

Family Type, 2013

  • In 2013, 76 percent of households in Spreydon ward had access to the Internet, compared with 79 percent of households in Christchurch City.
  • In this ward, 83 percent of households had access to a cellphone, compared with 84 percent of households for Christchurch City as a whole.

Access to motor vehicles

  • In 2013, 14 percent of households in Spreydon ward had access to three or more motor vehicles, compared with 17 percent of all households in Christchurch City.
  • 10 percent of households in this ward had no motor vehicle access, compared with 7.9 percent of all households in Christchurch City.

Main means of travel to work

  • 64 percent of employed people aged 15 years or over living in Spreydon ward drove a car, truck or van to work (private or company vehicle). This compares with 65 percent for all of Christchurch City.
  • A further 3.3 percent of workers were a passenger in a car, truck, van or company bus, compared with 3.3 percent for all of Christchurch City.
  • 3 percent of workers took a public bus to work, compared with 3.1 percent for Christchurch City as a whole.
  • 7.5 percent of workers rode a bicycle to work, compared with 5.8 percent for Christchurch City as a whole.
  • 5 percent walked or jogged, compared with 3.8 percent for Christchurch City as a whole.
  • View interactive suburb map(external link) showing commuting flows (2013).

Home ownership

  • In Spreydon ward in 2013, 61 percent of households in occupied private dwellings owned the dwelling they lived in (or held it in a family trust).
  • For Christchurch City as a whole, this figure was 65 percent.

Renter households

  • In Spreydon ward, 39 percent of households in occupied private dwellings did not own the dwelling they lived in.
  • For Christchurch City as a whole, this figure was 35 percent.
  • For households in this ward who rented the dwelling that they lived in, the median weekly rent paid was $290. This compared with $300 for Christchurch City.
  • For households in this ward who rented, 73 percent had a private sector landlord, compared with 83 percent for Christchurch City as a whole. The remainder of dwellings were either owned by the Christchurch City Council (10%) or by the state (17%).

Census, as at 5 March 2013

The most recent census was held on Tuesday, 5 March 2013 and the next census will take place in March 2018.

The Census of Population and Dwellings(external link) is the official count of people and dwellings in New Zealand undertaken by Statistics New Zealand. It provides a snapshot of our society at a point in time. Information from the census is used to help make decisions about which services are needed and where they should be, such as hospitals, kōhanga reo, schools, roads, public transport, and recreational facilities. Census information is used by councils, community groups, iwi, and businesses to plan for the future.

Note: This time series is irregular. Because the 2011 Census was cancelled after the Canterbury earthquake on 22 February 2011, the gap between this census and the last one is seven years. The change in the data between 2006 and 2013 may be greater than in the usual five-year gap between censuses. Be careful when comparing trends.

This data has been randomly rounded to protect confidentiality. Individual figures may not add up to totals, and values for the same data may vary in different text, tables and graphs. For areas with small populations, the data may not look as expected because of this rounding.

Population Estimates, at 30 June 2013 - 2016

The annual estimated resident population of an area (at 30 June each year) is based on the census usually resident population count at 5 March 2013, and adjusted for:

  • net census undercount (accounting for people not counted in the census, offset by those counted more than once).
  • residents temporarily overseas on census night
  • births, deaths, net permanent and long-term external migration and net internal migration since census night (5 March 2013)
  • reconciliation with demographic estimates at ages 0-9 years.

Census counts are not directly comparable with Statistics New Zealand's regularly published population estimates because of this adjustment.

Frequently asked questions about population statistics can be found here(external link).

Population Projections, 2013(base)-2043

These population projections have the estimated resident population at 30 June 2013 as a base, and cover the period to 2043 at five-year intervals. The ward projections were part of a customised dataset prepared for Christchurch City Council in 2016 by Statistics New Zealand. The figures for Christchurch City were released in February 2015, and the ward projections are based on this release.

In some instances, annual population growth since 2013 has been higher than projected, and by 2016 some wards had already exceeded the projected 2018 population.

Updated figures for Christchurch City only were released in December 2016(external link), which supersede the February 2015 release figures. Ward figures were not updated and because they are based on the February 2015 release city-wide total, all figures presented in the above sections (including for Christchurch City total) are at February 2015.

  • These demographic projections are not predictions. They represent the statistical outcomes of various combinations of selected assumptions about future changes in the dynamics of population change. These assumptions are formulated from the latest demographic trends and patterns, as well as international experiences.

  • Future trends in fertility, mortality, and migration and their determinants are uncertain, so Statistics NZ derives a range of projections. However, because of space restrictions, only the mid-range projection is given for each. In general, the mid-range projection conveys the broad features of likely future dynamics and patterns.

  • The projections do not take into account non-demographic factors such as war, catastrophe, and major government decisions (eg changes to immigration policy, changes to age of eligibility for national superannuation) that may invalidate the projections. Population trends and patterns are monitored regularly and the projections are updated every 2–3 years to include new demographic evidence and developments to methods.

Frequently asked questions about population statistics can be found here(external link).

Deprivation Index, 2013

The 2013 deprivation index(external link) is developed by researchers at the Department of Public Health, University of Otago (Wellington). It combines nine variables from the 2013 census which reflect dimensions of socio-economic deprivation. Deprivation scores apply to areas rather than individual people. The deprivation index is developed with three principal purposes in mind:

  1. Resource allocation: For example, indexes of deprivation have a long history of being used in capitation funding formulas for primary health care services (the population-based funding formula for District Health Boards) and in funding formulas for social services in other sectors (e.g. school decile rankings).
  2. Research: Indexes of deprivation have application in research in a variety of settings such as health and other social services. For example, in the health sector, many researchers use small-area indexes to describe the relationship between socioeconomic deprivation and health outcomes; increasing levels of deprivation are associated with higher mortality rates, and higher rates of many diseases.
  3. Advocacy: Indexes of deprivation are used by community groups and community-based service providers to describe the populations they serve, and to advocate for extra resources for community-based services. 
Further information about the deprivation index can be found here.(external link)

Profile areas

These 2014 profiles are a record of the community at the point in time they were compiled (November 2014), so some information may now be outdated. Profiles include core demographics, community infrastructure, pre and post earthquake issues, and community resilience.

If you would like further demographic information for wards or community boards, please email your request to us.