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POPULATION

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POPULATION(a)

At 30 June 2008, the total estimated resident population of Tasmania was 497,500 (preliminary). Males made up 49.3% of the population, and females 50.7%. Most of the population (79.4%) lived in the major population regions of Hobart, Launceston and Burnie-Devonport. Nearly one-fifth (19.5%) of the population were under 15 years of age and 65.5% were of working age (15-64 years). Tasmania had 15.0% of its population aged 65 years and over compared with Australia at 13.2%.


POPULATION CHANGE(a)

In the year to June 2008, the population of Tasmania increased by 4,300 people to 497,500, an increase of 0.9%. While below the national population change of 1.7%, this growth must be considered in the context of Tasmania's historical pattern of population change and the nature of Tasmania's components of population change. The components of population change are natural increase, interstate migration and overseas migration. In Tasmania, natural increase is the main source of population growth, while net interstate migration is usually the main source of population loss.

After experiencing population decline between 1996 and 2000 due to large interstate migration losses, Tasmania did not again reach its 1996 population until June 2003 when the population again exceeded 474,400.

TOTAL POPULATION, Tasmania

NATURAL INCREASE(a)

Natural increase (the number of births minus number of deaths) contributed 2,500 people to Tasmania's population growth of 4,300 in the year to June 2008, and was the main component of population change. The number of births per annum increased markedly from 2003-04 to 2007-08, from 5,700 to 6,700, as did the total fertility rates (the number of babies a woman could expect to bear in her reproductive lifetime) from 1.9 to 2.2 over this period. The number of deaths over the period 2003-04 to 2006-07 was relatively steady at approximately 4,000 per annum, increasing to approximately 4,200 in 2007-08. At December 2007, Tasmania's standardised death rate was 6.9 deaths per 1,000 standard population.

NATURAL INCREASE, Tasmania

BIRTHS AND DEATHS, Tasmania

TOTAL FERTILITY RATE(b), Statistical Divisions

STANDARDISED DEATH RATE, Tasmania

NET MIGRATION(a)

Tasmania experienced a high flow of people to and from the state, with 12,900 people arriving and 12,600 departing in the year to June 2008, leading to a net gain of 340 people. While below the recent net migration high of 2,600 in the year to June 2004, it reversed the net loss of 930 people for the year ending June 2007. Tasmania attracts a low proportion of Australia's overseas migrants. In the year to June 2008, Tasmania had 1,500 net overseas migrants, which represented 0.7% of the Australian overseas net migrant population.

NET MIGRATION, Tasmania

AGE STRUCTURE AND POPULATION BY STATISTICAL DIVISIONS









FOOTNOTE

(a) Numbers in this section of commentary have been rounded, and will not exactly match those in the related spreadsheets.


SOURCES

Australian Demographic Statistics (ABS cat. no. 3101.0)

Births, Australia (ABS cat. no. 3301.0)

Deaths, Australia (ABS cat. no. 3302.0)

Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia (ABS cat. no. 3235.0)