Our Wellbeing

This section of the Index provides information about the wellbeing of the population of greater Christchurch across 57 indicators organised into ten domains.

The Canterbury Wellbeing Index was produced by Community and Public Health (a division of the Canterbury District Health Board and now part of the National Public Health Service) from 2016 to 2023.

This project was funded as part of the recovery following the 2010/11 earthquake series in Canterbury. This funding stream has come to end so there is no plan to conduct to the Canterbury Wellbeing Survey again or to continue to update the Canterbury Wellbeing Index, including this website.

We appreciate that many have found the Index a valuable resource over time and we are grateful for your support of this project over the years.

These domains are drawn from international evidence about the wide variety of factors that influence wellbeing.

Each domain includes a section that summarises the key trends and equity issues across the indicators within that domain. The indicators are a mixture of those that describe people’s wellbeing status and those that measure the factors that are known to influence wellbeing.

A public health approach has been taken to the selection of indicators, with a focus on strengths and equity where possible. Breakdowns by indicator are provided where possible and meaningful, including by location (mostly the Territorial Authorities of Christchurch City, Selwyn District and Waimakariri District), ethnicity, income/ deprivation, age, gender or disability status.

Find out more about wellbeing in Canterbury

The Canterbury Wellbeing Index is part of a wider programme of work to influence and monitor wellbeing in the greater Christchurch region. Topic-specific links are also provided in each domain.

All Right? is a wellbeing campaign that supports people to become more aware of their mental health and wellbeing, and to take small and regular steps to improve it.
Waka Toa Ora - Healthy (Greater) Christchurch
This cross sector collaborative partnership between over 200 government and non-government agencies was established over a decade ago. Healthy Christchurch has recently expanded to include the Waimakariri and Selwyn districts and is now known as Waka Toa Ora.
Community in Mind Strategy and the Greater Christchurch Psychosocial Committee and Governance Group
Until late 2019 the Greater Christchurch Psychosocial Committee and Governance Group had responsibility for planning, coordinating, and monitoring psychosocial recovery and wellbeing of the population of Greater Christchurch from the 2010-11 earthquake sequence. They did this by supporting the on-going development, implementation and review of the Community in Mind Strategy and Shared Programme of Action. The Community in Mind Strategy and Shared Programme of Action together guided agencies, organisations and community groups to develop, target and coordinate their activities.
Many of the Greater Christchurch Psychosocial Committee partners are a part of Waka Toa Ora which supports broader intersectoral wellbeing work.
Greater Christchurch Partnership
Since 2003 local councils and iwi have been collaborating on planning and managing the impacts of growth and development on the Greater Christchurch area. Over the years other partners have joined the partnership including Canterbury DHB, Regenerate Christchurch, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the NZ Transport Agency.
The Partnership is responsible for the development and implementation of the Urban Development Strategy. Waka Toa Ora – Healthy (Greater) Christchurch is responsible for fostering and supporting delivery against the community and health workstream of this strategy.
Christchurch City Council plays a significant role in community wellbeing for residents in Christchurch City.
Selwyn District Council plays a significant role in community wellbeing for residents in Selwyn District.
Waimakariri District Council plays a significant role in community wellbeing for residents in Waimakariri District.