The Queenstown Lakes district resident population is estimated at 49,500 as of June 2022 according to population estimates released by Stats NZ last week (October 25).

The population has grown 16.5 percent over the past four years, up from 42,500 in 2018, to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9 percent.

The latest figures show the district’s population has been increasing at more than 2,000 people each year over the past 10 years, however this slowed in 2020 and 2021 due to a decline in international migration.

The data also shows we are aging, with the average age across the district 35.1 years compared to 33.8 years in 2018. 

The proportion of the population over the age of 40 is 40.6 percent, an increase from 39.3 percent in 2018.

Forecast population data from Stats NZ projected the district’s population to grow to 57,900 by 2033 and 64,800 by 2043 which is an annual growth rate of approximately 1.4 percent, well below the current rate.

Stats NZ did not provide a breakdown for the Wānaka-Upper Clutha Ward, however earlier population projections by the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) showed the ward comprised approximately 32 percent of the district's total population. 

At that proportion the current resident population of the Wānaka-Upper Clutha Ward would be 16,000 today, growing to 18,700 by 2033 and 21,000 by 2043.

QLDC’s latest projections have Wānaka-Upper Clutha closer to 20,000 population by 2033 while the current annual growth rate for the district (3.9 percent) would see the ward’s population grow to 23,500 in the next 10 years.

The Otago population is now estimated at 246,000 growing at 0.92 percent annually, and the New Zealand population is estimated at 5.12M growing 0.9 percent each year.

PHOTO: Wānaka App