3235.1.55.001 - Population by Age and Sex, New South Wales, Jun 2004  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 30/06/2005   
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AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION - NEW SOUTH WALES

At 30 June 2004, the estimated resident population of NSW was 6.73 million people. This comprised 3.35 million males and 3.38 million females, a sex ratio of 98.9 males per 100 females and represented an increase of 24,500 males and 20,000 females since 30 June 2003. With the continuing ageing of the NSW population, the distribution of the persons aged 0-14 years (19.7%) decreased slightly since 2003 while those aged 15-64 years (66.8%) and 65 years and over (13.5%) had slight increases.

MEDIAN AGE

The median age of the NSW population at 30 June 2004 was 36.6 years (35.8 years for males and 37.4 years for females). This is an increase of 0.2 years for males and 0.3 years for females since 2003, again indicating the ageing of the population.

The population of the Sydney Statistical Division (SD) had a median age of 35.4 years (34.7 years for males and 36.1 years for females). Within the Sydney SD, the Ku-ring-gai (A) and Gosford (C) Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) had the highest median ages at 40.8 and 40.0 years respectively while the Blacktown (C) - South-West (30.5 years) and Blacktown (C) - North (31.4 years) SLAs had the lowest median ages. The Ku-ring-gai (A) SLA also had the highest median age for males (39.5 years) and second highest for females (41.7 years) after Hunter's Hill (A) (43.2 years). The Blacktown (C) - South-West SLA had the lowest median age for males and females (29.7 and 31.3 years respectively).

Outside the Sydney SD, the Mid-North Coast SD had the highest median age at 42.4 years (41.8 years for males and 43.0 years for females), while the Murrumbidgee SD had the lowest median age at 35.7 years (34.9 years for males and 36.6 years for females). The Great Lakes (A) (48.6 years) and Barraba (A) (48.1 years) SLAs had the highest median ages while the Newcastle (C) - Inner and Armidale Dumaresq (A) - City SLAs had the lowest at 30.2 and 31.0 respectively. The highest median age for males was recorded in Nundle (A) (48.0 years) and, for females, in Barraba (A) (50.5 years) SLAs. These were both followed by the Great Lakes (A) SLA with 47.9 years for males and 49.4 years for females. The Armidale Dumaresq (A) - City SLA had the lowest median age for males (29.3 years) while the Newcastle (C) - Inner SLA had the lowest median age for females (29.4 years) and the second lowest for males (31.0 years).

SEX RATIO

The sex ratio for the NSW population of 98.9 males per 100 females at 30 June 2004 was slightly higher than the 2003 figure of 98.7. The ratio was highest in the 0-4 year age groups, with 106.0 males for every 100 females. The ratio remained over or near 100 until the 65-69 year age group (96.9 males per 100 females) then declined to around 46.0 at ages over 85 years.

Within the Sydney SD, the highest ratio was recorded in the Sydney (C) - Inner (124.6 males per 100 females) SLA, followed by Sydney (C) - South (117.9), Sydney (C) - Central (114.1) and Auburn (A) (109.4) SLAs. The lowest ratio of 88.7 males per 100 females was recorded in both the Mosman (A) and Woollahra (A) SLAs followed by North Sydney (A) at 91.7 males per 100 females.

Outside the Sydney SD, the highest ratio was recorded in the Unincorporated Far West SLA (134.6 males per 100 females) followed by 125.6 in the Central Darling (A) and 125.5 in the Walgett (A) SLAs. The Armidale Dumaresq (A) - City (90.9), Glen Innes (A) 91.2 and Hastings (A) - Pt A (91.4) SLAs had the lowest ratios for 2004 in non-metropolitan NSW.

MALES PER 100 FEMALES, NSW, By Age - 2004

Graph: MALES PER 100 FEMALES, NSW, By Age - 2004


CHILDREN - AGED 0-14 YEARS

At 30 June 2004, there were 1.33 million children aged 0-14 years in NSW, a decrease of 8000 children during the last 12 months. Children in this age group comprised 19.7% of the state's population. The North Western SD had the highest proportion of children at 23.1% (27,400 persons) followed by the Murrumbidgee SD at 22.1% (33,800 persons). The Sydney SD had the lowest proportion of children at 19.3% (815,000 persons) followed by the Richmond Tweed SD at 19.7% (44,000 persons).

The highest proportions of children in the Sydney SD were located in the western metropolitan SLAs of Blacktown (C) - South-West (27.2%), Camden (A) (25.6%), Liverpool (C) (24.5%) and Campbelltown (24.2%). The lowest proportions of children were located in the inner city SLAs of Sydney (C) - Inner (7.4%), Sydney (C) - Central (8.3%), Sydney (C) - South (8.9%) and North Sydney (A) (9.8%). In regional NSW, the highest proportions of children were located in the Bourke (A) (27.7%), Brewarrina (A) (26.7%), Coonamble (A) (24.9%) and Cobar (A) (24.7%) SLAs while the lowest proportions were in the Newcastle (C) - Inner (7.7%), Nundle (A) (14.5%), Barraba (A) (16.0%) and Great Lakes (A) (16.5%) SLAs.
PROPORTION OF POPULATION AGED 0-14 YEARS - At 30 June 2004

Graph: PROPORTION OF POPULATION AGED 0–14 YEARS-At 30 June 2004


WORKING AGE POPULATION - AGED 15-64 YEARS

Over two-thirds of the NSW population (4.50 million persons) were in the working age group (aged 15-64 years) at 30 June 2004. This represents an increase of 34,000 persons since 2003. The Sydney SD (68.7% or 2.91 million persons) was the only SD to have a proportion for this age group higher than the state proportion. The lowest proportions were recorded in the Mid-North Coast (61.1% or 178,200 persons) and Far West (62.4% or 14,800 persons) SDs.

Within the Sydney SD, the highest proportions occurred in the inner city SLAs of Sydney (C) - Central (83.0%), Sydney (C) - Inner (81.6%), Sydney (C) - South (81.5%) and North Sydney (A) (78.5%). The lowest proportions were in the Wyong (A) (60.8%), Gosford (C) (62.4%), Bankstown (C) (64.6%) and Ku-ring-gai (A) (64.7%) SLAs. Outside the Sydney SD, the SLAs with the highest proportions were Newcastle (C) - Inner (81.8%), Unincorporated Far West (74.4%), Eastern Capital City Regional (A) - Pt A (70.2%) and Snowy River (A) 70.0%). The lowest proportions were in the SLAs of Tweed (A) - Pt A (57.3%), Great Lakes (A) (57.6%), Bingara (A) (57.6%) and Clarence Valley (A) - Maclean (58.2%).
PROPORTION OF POPULATION AGED 15-64 YEARS - At 30 June 2004

Graph: PROPORTION OF POPULATION AGED 15–64 YEARS - At 30 June 2004


OLDER PEOPLE - AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER

In the 12 months to 30 June 2004, the population of older people aged 65 years and over increased by 17,800 to around 907,300 persons. Older people now represent 13.5% of the NSW population. At the SD level, the highest proportions of older people were in the Mid-North Coast (18.9% or 55,100 persons), Far West (A) (17.7% or 4,200 persons) and Richmond-Tweed (17.6% or 39,400 persons) SDs, while the Sydney SD (12.1% or 511,000 persons) was the only SD to have a proportion lower than the state as a whole.

The proportions of older people in SLAs in the Sydney SD were highest in the Central Coast with Wyong (A) and Gosford (C) recording 17.7% and 17.6% respectively. These were followed by 16.3% in both the Hunter's Hill (A) and Sutherland (A) - East SLAs. The lowest proportions were in the western metropolitan SLAs of Blacktown (C) - North (6.1%), Blacktown (C) - South-West (6.7%), Campbelltown (C) (7.0%) and Penrith (C) (7.5%). In non-metropolitan NSW, the highest proportions were recorded in the coastal SLAs of Great Lakes (A) (25.9%) and Tweed (A) - Pt A (25.8%) followed by the inland SLAs of Barraba (A) at 24.7% and Bingara (A) at 23.4%. The lowest proportion were recorded in the Eastern Capital City Regional (A) - Pt A (7.0%) followed by the Unincorporated Far West (8.7%), Bourke (A) (8.8%) and Greater Queanbeyan (C) (9.1%) SLAs.
PROPORTION OF POPULATION AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER - At 30 June 2004

Graph: PROPORTION OF POPULATION AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER - At 30 June 2004