3235.7 - Population By Age and Sex, Northern Territory, Jun 2000  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 29/06/2001  Ceased
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Final Issue - This publication is being replaced by Population by Age and Sex, Australia (Cat. No. 3235.6.55.001) Companion Data.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS


POPULATION

At the end of June 2000 the estimated resident population of the Northern Territory was 195,500 (1.0% of the Australian population), comprising 103,300 males and 92,100 females. Between June 1999 and June 2000 the Northern Territory population increased by 1.4% (2,700 people).

The majority of people in the Northern Territory (115,600 or 59.1%) lived in the three major urban centres of Darwin City SSD, Palmerston-East Arm SSD and Alice Springs (T). A further 7.1% (13,900) lived in the smaller urban areas of Katherine (T) and Tennant Creek (T), and 9.1% (17,800) lived in Darwin Rural Areas SSD. By SSD, the greatest proportion of people lived in Darwin City SSD (35.2%), followed by Central NT SSD (19.2%) which includes Alice Springs.

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION BY STATISTICAL SUBDIVISION, NORTHERN TERRITORY
graph - POPULATION DISTRIBUTION BY STATISTICAL SUBDIVISION, NORTHERN TERRITORY


The proportion of the Northern Territory's population living in each SSD was relatively stable between June 1999 and June 2000 with the exception of Palmerston-East Arm SSD which increased from 10.2% to 10.9%. This reflects the continued movement of the population away from Darwin City SSD to this area. The proportion of the Northern Territory's population living in Darwin City SSD declined from 35.5% to 35.2% over the same period.


SEX DISTRIBUTION

The sex ratio for the Northern Territory at June 2000 was 112 males for every 100 females, the same as the sex ratio reported at June 1999. At the end of June 2000, males outnumbered females in all but 5 out of 62 NT SLAs: The Gardens, Wanguri, Moulden, Woodroffe and Sandover - Balance. The highest ratio of males to females occurred in the SLAs of East Arm (which includes a prison) with 467 males per 100 females, Litchfield (S) - Part A (which includes the Robertson Army Barracks) with 307 males per 100 females, and Winnellie (a light industrial area) with 179 males per 100 females.


AGE STRUCTURE

Over the last 10 years the age structure of the Northern Territory's population has remained quite different from that of the total Australian population. At the end of June 2000 the Northern Territory had the highest proportion of people aged 14 years and under of any State or Territory (26.0% compared with 20.4% nationally). The Northern Territory also had the highest proportion of people aged 20-34 years compared with any State or Territory (28.1% compared with 22.2% nationally). In contrast it had the lowest proportion of people aged 65 years and over (3.5% compared with 12.3% nationally).

AGE STRUCTURE, NORTHERN TERRITORY, 1999 AND 2021
graph - AGE STRUCTURE, NORTHERN TERRITORY,  1999 AND 2021



The SLA of Sandover - Balance had the highest proportion of people aged 14 years and under (38.8%), followed by the Gulf (36.3%), West Arnhem (35.5%) and East Arnhem - Balance (35.3%). These SLAs have large proportions of Indigenous people.

The highest proportion of people aged between 20-34 years (55.6%) was in the SLA of East Arm which includes a prison. Litchfield (S) - Part A had the second highest proportion of people aged between 20-34 years (52.8%) (due largely to the presence of the Robertson Army Barracks), followed by Larrakeyah (40.3%)(which includes the Larrakeyah Army Barracks), Petermann (38.6%), Alice Springs (T) - Stuart (38.2%) and Brinkin (38.1%) (due largely to the presence of Northern Territory University students residing in the area, both on and off campus).

The SLAs with the highest proportion of people aged 65 years and over were all located in Darwin SD: The Gardens (12.7%)(which includes a nursing home), Lee Point-Leanyer Swamp (11.0%) (which comprises mainly caravan park residents), and Narrows (10.6%). In Northern Territory - Bal SD, the SLAs of Cox-Finniss and East Arm recorded high proportions of people aged 65 and over (8.4% and 8.0% respectively).


MEDIAN AGE

At the end of June 2000 the Northern Territory population had a median age of 29.0 years which was considerably younger than the national median age of 35.2 years.

MEDIAN AGE: AUSTRALIA, STATES AND TERRITORIES

graph - MEDIAN AGE: AUSTRALIA, STATES AND TERRITORIES



Median age by SLA ranged from a low of 19.7 years in The Gardens (due largely to the presence of St John's College which includes boarders) to a high of 41.9 years in Narrows. Other SLAs with low median ages included East Arnhem-Balance (22.3 years), West Arnhem (22.9 years), Sandover -Balance (23.2 years), Gulf (23.5 years) and Victoria (23.9 years), all areas with large proportions of Indigenous people. SLAs with high median ages included Lee Point-Leanyer Swamp (41.3 years), Parap (38.0 years) and Fannie Bay (36.9 years).

The median age for males and females in the Northern Territory was 29.2 years and 28.7 years respectively, compared with the national median age for males and females of 34.4 years and 35.9 years respectively.