People receiving Sole Parent Support benefits in the Canterbury Region, New Zealand
By age group of the child(ren), 2020 Q2–2026 Q1, number of people
| Quarter | Category | Number of people |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 Q2 | Under 5 | 3,012 |
| 2020 Q3 | Under 5 | 3,078 |
| 2020 Q4 | Under 5 | 3,126 |
| 2021 Q1 | Under 5 | 3,081 |
| 2021 Q2 | Under 5 | 3,123 |
| 2021 Q3 | Under 5 | 3,150 |
| 2021 Q4 | Under 5 | 3,477 |
| 2022 Q1 | Under 5 | 3,423 |
| 2022 Q2 | Under 5 | 3,390 |
| 2022 Q3 | Under 5 | 3,336 |
| 2022 Q4 | Under 5 | 3,366 |
| 2023 Q1 | Under 5 | 3,399 |
| 2023 Q2 | Under 5 | 3,453 |
| 2023 Q3 | Under 5 | 3,486 |
| 2023 Q4 | Under 5 | 3,501 |
| 2024 Q1 | Under 5 | 3,474 |
| 2024 Q2 | Under 5 | 3,498 |
| 2024 Q3 | Under 5 | 3,540 |
| 2024 Q4 | Under 5 | 3,582 |
| 2025 Q1 | Under 5 | 3,513 |
| 2025 Q2 | Under 5 | 3,456 |
| 2025 Q3 | Under 5 | 3,468 |
| 2025 Q4 | Under 5 | 3,438 |
| 2026 Q1 | Under 5 | 3,432 |
| 2020 Q2 | Aged 5-13 | 2,985 |
| 2020 Q3 | Aged 5-13 | 3,189 |
| 2020 Q4 | Aged 5-13 | 3,324 |
| 2021 Q1 | Aged 5-13 | 3,360 |
| 2021 Q2 | Aged 5-13 | 3,306 |
| 2021 Q3 | Aged 5-13 | 3,354 |
| 2021 Q4 | Aged 5-13 | 3,537 |
| 2022 Q1 | Aged 5-13 | 3,507 |
| 2022 Q2 | Aged 5-13 | 3,486 |
| 2022 Q3 | Aged 5-13 | 3,489 |
| 2022 Q4 | Aged 5-13 | 3,504 |
| 2023 Q1 | Aged 5-13 | 3,504 |
| 2023 Q2 | Aged 5-13 | 3,570 |
| 2023 Q3 | Aged 5-13 | 3,603 |
| 2023 Q4 | Aged 5-13 | 3,669 |
| 2024 Q1 | Aged 5-13 | 3,681 |
| 2024 Q2 | Aged 5-13 | 3,690 |
| 2024 Q3 | Aged 5-13 | 3,741 |
| 2024 Q4 | Aged 5-13 | 3,888 |
| 2025 Q1 | Aged 5-13 | 3,903 |
| 2025 Q2 | Aged 5-13 | 4,020 |
| 2025 Q3 | Aged 5-13 | 4,032 |
| 2025 Q4 | Aged 5-13 | 4,146 |
| 2026 Q1 | Aged 5-13 | 4,173 |
Definitions
Working age: Working-age clients are aged 18-64 years. This definition reflects the minimum age of eligibility for most main benefits and the age of qualification for New Zealand Superannuation. In some cases benefits may be received by individuals outside of 'working age' (i.e. 18-64 years). Examples of this include individuals being eligible for a benefit from a younger age, or people over 65 years receiving the Emergency Benefit due to residency issues impacting on their eligibility for superannuation.
Ethnic group: Ethnic group data is self-identified and multiple ethnic groups may be chosen by an individual as fits their preference or self-concept. Multiple selected groups are then prioritised into a hierarchy. The Māori ethnic group has the highest priority in this hierarchy, followed by Pacific peoples. NZ European has the lowest priority.
Continuous duration: The length of time the client has continuously been receiving any main benefit.
Other main benefits: Includes the remaining benefit categories such as Emergency Benefit and working-age Youth Payment/Young Parent Payment (YP/YPP).
For more information
Exclusions
This dataset excludes non-working age people who receive a benefit.
Data provided by
Ministry of Social Development
Dataset name
Benefit Fact Sheets: Regional Councils data tables March 2026
Webpage:
https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/index.html
How to find the data
At URL provided, under Excel Tables, select 'Regional Councils data tables - March 2026'. For processing purposes, all the Regional Council tabs were combined into one tab by Figure.NZ.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Benefit Fact Sheets: Regional Councils data tables March 2026
From the dataset Benefit Fact Sheets: Regional Councils data tables March 2026, this data was extracted:
- Sheet: Summary
- Range:
E2:AB2039 - Provided: 36,312 data points
This data forms the table Benefits - People receiving working age benefits by main type, characteristic and region 2020 Q2–2026 Q1.
Dataset originally released on:
April 16, 2026
About this dataset
The Benefit Fact Sheets provide a high-level view of trends in benefit receipt.