WESTERN AUSTRALIA


Total population

Age and sex distribution

Median age

Children (under 15 years of age)

Working age population (aged 15-64 years)

People aged 65 years and over

Sex ratio


TOTAL POPULATION

At June 2011, the estimated resident population of Western Australia (WA) was 2.35 million people. WA's population increased by 451,100 people, or 24%, since June 2001. This was the fastest growth of all states and territories.

Over three-quarters (78%) of the state’s population resided in Greater Perth in 2011. In the ten years to 2011, the population in Greater Perth increased by 380,100 people to reach 1.83 million. Over the same period, the rest of WA increased by 71,000 people to reach 520,100.

The population of each SA3 in WA grew in the ten years to 2011, except the Gascoyne (down 6.6%). Wanneroo had the fastest growth, increasing by 91%, followed by the Pilbara (59%) and Serpentine - Jarrahdale (58%).

AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION

In 2011, Greater Perth had a lower proportion of its population aged less than 15 years and a higher proportion aged 15 to 34 years as compared to the rest of the state. This is indicative of young adults moving to the capital city for employment or education purposes.

The rest of WA had a higher proportion of its population aged 35 to 64 years compared to Greater Perth. This may be reflective of the employment opportunities generated by the mining boom in regional WA.

The difference between the age distribution for Greater Perth and the rest of WA was evident for both sexes, and was most apparent for people aged 20 to 24 years. For this age group, females comprised 3.8% of the population in Greater Perth compared with 2.9% in the rest of WA, while males comprised 4.1% in Greater Perth compared with 3.3% in the rest of the state.

The total population aged 20 to 24 years in Greater Perth was more than four times greater than that of the rest of the state. Males aged 20 to 24 years within Greater Perth outnumbered females in this age group by 4,000.
MEDIAN AGE

WA had a median age (the age at which half the population is older and half is younger) of 36.3 years at June 2011. Females had a higher median age (37.0) than males (35.6). The median age of people living in Greater Perth (36.1) was lower than for people living in the rest of WA (36.9).

The SA2s with the highest median ages in WA were the popular retirement and sea-change/tree-change locations of Mandurah - East (48.9 years), York - Beverley (48.2) in the northern wheatbelt, Mandurah - South (47.4), and Denmark (46.6) in the south-west of the state.

Halls Creek (25.9 years) and Roebuck (27.0), in the state’s far north, and Seville Grove (28.0) in Greater Perth, had the lowest median ages in the state.
CHILDREN (UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE)

At June 2011, there were 450,900 people aged 0 to 14 years, accounting for almost one-fifth of the state’s population. Within Greater Perth, children accounted for 19% of the population, compared to 21% in the rest of WA.

The SA2s with the highest proportions of children were Roebuck (31%) and Halls Creek (31%), both in the north of the state, Gelorup - Dalyellup - Stratham (29%) in the south-west, and Ellenbrook (28%) in Greater Perth.

WORKING AGE POPULATION (AGED 15-64 YEARS)

Just over two-thirds of WA’s population (or 1.62 million people) was aged between 15 and 64 years in June 2011.

The SA2 with the highest proportion of its population of working age was East Pilbara (90%), which is located in the state’s north and is the focus of much of WA’s mining activity. This was followed by Perth City (86%) and Casuarina - Wellard (East) (81%), in Perth's southern suburbs. Consistent with East Pilbara, the northern SA2s of Roebourne and Ashburton also had high proportions of their populations of working age (both 81%).

PEOPLE AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER

There were 285,200 people aged 65 years and over in WA at June 2011, representing 12% of the state’s population. More than three-quarters (79%) of people aged 65 years and over lived in Greater Perth.

Mandurah - South had the state’s highest proportion of people aged 65 years and over, at 26%. The adjoining SA2s of Mandurah (24%) and Greenfields (23%) also had high proportions of their populations aged 65 years and over.
SEX RATIO

At June 2011, the sex ratio (the number of males per 100 females) in WA was 101.2, with 1.18 million males and 1.17 million females. WA’s sex ratio has gradually increased from 100.2 in 2001. In 2011, WA had the second highest ratio of males per 100 females of all the states and territories, behind the Northern Territory (110.6).

The SA2 in WA with the highest sex ratio was the mining region of East Pilbara (296.5), which was also the highest in Australia. Other SA2s with sex ratios above 150.0 included Casuarina - Wellard (East) and Chidlow, which both contain a large male prison facility; and Roebourne, Ashburton, Meekatharra and Leinster - Leonora, which are all located in regional WA and are areas of significant mining activity.

Almost half of the SA2s in the state had more females than males in their populations. Of these, the lowest sex ratios in Greater Perth were in Mosman Park - Peppermint Grove (85.7), Como (88.9) and Bicton - Palmyra (89.0). Other SA2s with low sex ratios in Greater Perth included Willagee (90.1), Melville and Mandurah - South (both 91.4). Outside of Greater Perth, Albany, located in WA’s south, had the lowest sex ratio of 87.5, followed by Geraldton, in the state’s mid-west, and Busselton in the south-west (both 90.5).