2032.0 - Census of Population and Housing: Australia in Profile -- A Regional Analysis, 2001  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 16/01/2004   
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MEDIA RELEASE

January 16, 2004
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
2004
Sydney Centre Has The Highest Population Density In Australia

It's official! The centre of Sydney is the most crowded place in Australia, according to a report released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The centre of Sydney had the highest population density of the 118 regions presented in the report, with more than 4,000 people per square kilometre in the Eastern Suburbs (Statistical Sub-Division, or SSD).

The report used results from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing to describe the major differences in the socio-demographic characteristics of people living in different parts of Australia.

Some major findings of the report relating to New South Wales include:
  • Some of the oldest populations in Australia were found in coastal areas popular with retirees, such as Richmond-Tweed (Statistical Division, or SD) in northern NSW. In this region nearly one in five people were aged 65 years and over, compared to one in eight in Australia as a whole.
  • Younger couples without children made up a higher proportion of families in inner city areas than in other regions. They made up 17% of all families in the inner city area of Sydney.
  • The overseas born population was more urbanised than Australia's total population, with 81% living in capital cities. One of the highest concentrations was in Fairfield-Liverpool (SSD) in Sydney, where almost half (49%) the population was born overseas.
  • In NSW, the highest rate of computer use at home was recorded in Central Northern Sydney (SSD), where six out of ten people used a computer at home in the week prior to the 2001 Census.

Further information is in Census of Population and Housing: Australia in Profile - A Regional Analysis (cat. no. 2032.0).

Media Note: The report was based on ABS geographical areas called Statistical Divisions (SDs). However, to give more evenly sized regions, SDs in populous areas have generally been disaggregated to Statistical Subdivisions (SSDs) or Statistical Region Sectors (SRSs). Specifically, information is presented for 28 regions across New South Wales, including 14 in Sydney.