Islington is a suburb on the western side of Christchurch city.
The suburb is named after the London borough of Islington, perhaps because the borough had a market for cattle, while the Christchurch area had a freezing works opened in 1889.
State Highway 1 and the Main South Line run past the southern side of Islington. The suburb is home to a major electrical substation, which is also home to the main operations centre for the South Island's electrical grid.
Demographics
Islington covers 1.78 km2 (0.69 sq mi). It had an estimated population of 1,040 as of June 2025, with a population density of 584 people per km2.
Islington had a population of 960 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 9 people (−0.9%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 54 people (6.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 492 males, 465 females, and 3 people of other genders in 369 dwellings. 2.8% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 37.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 144 people (15.0%) aged under 15 years, 225 (23.4%) aged 15 to 29, 447 (46.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 144 (15.0%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 69.4% European (Pākehā); 17.5% Māori; 8.8% Pasifika; 17.5% Asian; 0.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.9%, Māori by 4.1%, Samoan by 2.8%, and other languages by 12.8%. No language could be spoken by 1.9% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 23.4, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 34.7% Christian, 2.2% Hindu, 0.6% Islam, 1.6% Māori religious beliefs, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, and 0.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 51.9%, and 7.2% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 105 (12.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 423 (51.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 294 (36.0%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $38,900, compared with $41,500 nationally. 24 people (2.9%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 447 (54.8%) full-time, 90 (11.0%) part-time, and 21 (2.6%) unemployed.