MEDIA RELEASE
18 August 2015	Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)	90/2015

Australia's regional centres — particularly those along the coast — have higher than average proportions of Baby Boomers, figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show, Generation X & Y can mainly be found in capital cities, while many of the iGeneration live around major educational institutions.

Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2014 presents the latest regional population numbers as at 30 June 2014, and shows how much the distribution of different age groups varies across Australia.

"While the majority of Baby Boomers (63 per cent) lived in our capital cities in 2014, the areas with the highest proportions of Baby Boomers (persons aged between 48 and 67 years in 2014) were located around urban centres along the coast or in regional Australia, in so-called sea change or tree change areas," said Denise Carlton from the ABS.

"Topping the list was Benalla Region, in north-eastern Victoria. Nestled between the regional centres of Shepparton and Wangaratta, Benalla Region had the highest proportion of Baby Boomers (40 per cent) of any area in Australia.

"High proportions of Baby Boomers were also found in several areas close to the coast, including Bega-Eden Hinterland and Eurobodalla Hinterland on NSW's south coast, Magnetic Island off the Queensland coast and Bruny Island - Kettering in south-east Tasmania, all at 38 per cent."

Regional distribution of the different generational groups in 2014 tended to reflect their stage in the life cycle. The areas with the highest proportions of Generation X & Y (people aged between 28 to 47 years in 2014) were Darlinghurst in inner Sydney and the Western Australian mining area of East Pilbara (both over 51 per cent).

For the most part, Generation X & Y — being in the middle stages of their working lives — were found in capital city areas, such as Surry Hills and Erskineville - Alexandria (both 51 per cent) in Sydney, Collingwood and Elwood (both 47 per cent) in Melbourne, Fortitude Valley (48 per cent) in Brisbane, and Crace (48 per cent) in Canberra.

Higher than average proportions of the iGeneration (people aged between 8 to 27 years in 2014) were found in the inner and central parts of our capital cities, and in areas near tertiary education institutions.

Acton (ACT), where the Australian National University is based, had the highest proportion of the iGeneration in Australia (76 per cent). Other areas with high proportions included Carlton and Parkville (both 55 per cent), near the University of Melbourne, and St Lucia (57 per cent), home of the University of Queensland.

For more information see Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2014 (cat. no. 3235.0), available for free download from the ABS website: https://www.abs.gov.au

Media notes:

• Unless otherwise stated, areas mentioned in this release are Statistical Areas Level 2 and capital cities are Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, as defined in the Australia Statistical Geography Standard.
• When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
• Media requests and interviews - contact the ABS Communications Section on 1300 175 070.

Statistical Area 2 (SA2)	Greater Capital City Statistical Area	% of Total Population
BABY BOOMERS (48-67 YEAR OLDS IN 2014)
Benalla Region	Rest of Victoria	39.5
Bega-Eden Hinterland	Rest of New South Wales	38.8
Eurobodalla Hinterland	Rest of New South Wales	38.7
Castlemaine Region	Rest of Victoria	38.5
Magnetic Island	Rest of Queensland	37.8
GENERATION X & Y (28-47 YEAR OLDS IN 2014)
Darlinghurst	Greater Sydney	51.1
East Pilbara	Rest of Western Australia	51.1
Surry Hills	Greater Sydney	50.9
Erskineville - Alexandria	Greater Sydney	50.7
Crace	Australian Capital Territory	48.2
iGENERATION (8-27 YEAR OLDS IN 2014)
Acton	Australian Capital Territory	75.9
Civic	Australian Capital Territory	58.2
St Lucia	Greater Brisbane	56.9
Carlton	Greater Melbourne	55.4
Parkville	Greater Melbourne	55.0
(a) Excludes SA2s with a population of less than 1,000 at June 2014.