Australian Bureau of Statistics
Celebrating the International Year of Statistics 2013

TASMANIA



STATE SUMMARY

REGIONAL VARIATIONS

MUNICIPAL GROWTH

POPULATION CHANGE IN WEST COAST MINING AND NORTH-WESTERN FARMING REGIONS

POPULATION CHANGE IN TASMANIAN CITIES

CENTRES OF POPULATION

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA POPULATIONS


STATE SUMMARY

Tasmania's estimated resident population grew by 4,300 people in 2007-08 to 497,500 at June 2008. This was an increase of 0.9% for the year, which was the lowest growth rate of any state or territory but above the 0.7% annual growth of Tasmania's population in the previous three years. Tasmania's population, as a proportion of Australia's population, remained steady at 2.3% at June 2008.

REGIONAL VARIATIONS

In 2007-08, the population in all four of Tasmania's SDs increased. The fastest growth was in Southern (1.3%), followed by Greater Hobart and Mersey-Lyell (0.9% each) and Northern (0.6%). The largest growth was in Greater Hobart (an increase of 1,960 people), followed by Mersey-Lyell (1,050), Northern (860) and Southern (470). Greater Hobart accounted for 42.1% of Tasmania's population, followed by Northern (28.2%), Mersey-Lyell (22.3%) and Southern (7.4%). In the five years to June 2008, Greater Hobart's share of Tasmania's population has increased while the shares in Northern and Mersey-Lyell slightly declined.

MUNICIPAL GROWTH

Most of Tasmania's 29 LGAs experienced population growth in the year to June 2008. Sorell (M) (2.8%) and Brighton (M) (2.5%) were the fastest-growing LGAs in Tasmania. The largest growth occurred in Kingborough (M) (630 people) and Launceston (C) (400). Three of the five fastest-growing LGAs were within commuting distance of inner-city Hobart, as were four of the five LGAs with the largest growth.

LGAs WITH LARGEST AND FASTEST POPULATION GROWTH, Tasmania
	ERP at 30 June	Population Change
	2008p	2007r-2008p
LGA	no.	no.	%
LARGEST GROWTH
Kingborough (M)	32 800	630	2.0
Launceston (C)	65 200	400	0.6
Brighton (M)	15 200	380	2.5
Clarence (C)	51 500	360	0.7
Sorell (M)	12 800	340	2.8
FASTEST GROWTH(a)
Sorell (M)	12 800	340	2.8
Brighton (M)	15 200	380	2.5
Latrobe (M)	9 300	210	2.3
Kingborough (M)	32 800	630	2.0
Kentish (M)	6 100	110	1.7
(a) Excludes LGAs with a population of less than 2,000 at June 2007.

POPULATION CHANGE IN WEST COAST MINING AND NORTH-WESTERN FARMING REGIONS

The West Coast (M) LGA, which contains many of Tasmania's mines, reversed a trend of declining population with an increase of 40 people (0.8%) in 2007-08. Circular Head (M), an agricultural region in north-west Tasmania, was the only LGA with a population over 2,000 to show any decline in population, decreasing by 30 (0.4%) over the year.

LGAs WITH LARGEST AND FASTEST POPULATION DECLINE, Tasmania
	ERP at 30 June	Population Change
	2008p	2007r-2008p
LGA	no.	no.	%
LARGEST DECLINE
Circular Head (M)	8 200	-30	-0.4
King Island (M)	1 700	-10	-0.7
FASTEST DECLINE(a)
Circular Head (M)	8 200	-30	-0.4
(a) Excludes LGAs with a population of less than 2,000 at June 2007.

POPULATION CHANGE IN TASMANIAN CITIES

Launceston (C) had the largest growth (400 people) of the six cities in Tasmania, while Devonport (C), also in the north of the state, had the fastest growth (1.4%). This is a change from the previous two years when the fastest and largest population growth occurred in Clarence (C), which is on the eastern shore of Hobart's Derwent River.


CENTRES OF POPULATION

At June 2008, the centre of population in Tasmania was in the Central Highlands (M) LGA, just to the west of Woods Lake. In the five years to June 2008, the state's centre of population moved around 0.7 kilometres south-east.

The centre of population of the Hobart SD at June 2008 was in the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, just north of the Hobart central business district.

Local Government Area	Estimated Resident Population at 30 June 2008	Change over previous year	Change over previous year (%)
Break O'Day (M)	6 311	49	0.8
Brighton (M)	15 198	376	2.5
Burnie (C)	19 682	33	0.2
Central Coast (M)	21 571	245	1.1
Central Highlands (M)	2 339	23	1.0
Circular Head (M)	8 212	-34	-0.4
Clarence (C)	51 506	363	0.7
Derwent Valley (M)	9 920	161	1.6
Devonport (C)	25 208	339	1.4
Dorset (M)	7 294	90	1.2
Flinders (M)	905	17	1.9
George Town (M)	6 723	2	0.0
Glamorgan/Spring Bay (M)	4 464	58	1.3
Glenorchy (C)	44 433	139	0.3
Hobart (C)	49 611	34	0.1
Huon Valley (M)	14 858	208	1.4
Kentish (M)	6 130	105	1.7
King Island (M)	1 716	-12	-0.7
Kingborough (M)	32 787	628	2.0
Latrobe (M)	9 329	212	2.3
Launceston (C)	65 222	403	0.6
Meander Valley (M)	19 329	178	0.9
Northern Midlands (M)	12 524	44	0.4
Sorell (M)	12 795	344	2.8
Southern Midlands (M)	5 934	71	1.2
Local Government Area	Estimated Resident Population at 30 June 2008	Change over previous year	Change over previous year (%)
Tasman (M)	2 317	18	0.8
Waratah/Wynyard (M)	14 022	117	0.8
West Coast (M)	5 222	40	0.8
West Tamar (M)	21 967	74	0.3
TOTAL TASMANIA	497 529	4 325	0.9
(C) City
(M) Municipality
Estimates for 2008 are preliminary.
Source: Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2007–08 (cat. no. 3218.0).