MAIN FEATURES

DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMARY, Statistical Divisions, Victoria

					ERP 2005p
		ERP at 30 June		Population Change (a)	Proportion in Age groups (%)
		2004r	2005p	2004-2005p	0-14 yrs	15-64 yrs	65 yrs and over	Sex Ratio (b)	Median Age (yrs)
Statistical Division
	Melbourne	3,592,975	3,634,233	1.1	18.6	68.7	12.7	97.2	36.0
	Barwon	265,588	269,752	1.6	19.4	65.2	15.5	97.0	38.6
	Western District	100,808	101,441	0.6	21.2	62.7	16.1	99.1	39.2
	Central Highlands	145,898	148,294	1.6	20.3	65.5	14.2	96.6	37.6
	Wimmera	50,712	50,884	0.3	20.0	60.7	19.3	99.1	41.4
	Mallee	91,439	92,087	0.7	21.7	62.3	16.0	99.3	38.4
	Loddon	172,889	175,406	1.5	20.3	64.8	14.9	97.1	39.2
	Goulburn	200,646	203,989	1.7	21.2	63.7	15.0	100.5	38.4
	Ovens-Murray	95,909	96,642	0.8	20.7	64.7	14.5	98.3	38.9
	East Gippsland	82,114	83,126	1.2	19.1	63.1	17.8	101.2	42.3
	Gippsland	163,992	166,492	1.5	20.2	63.7	16.1	97.0	39.9
Victoria		4,962,970	5,022,346	1.2	19.1	67.4	13.5	97.5	36.8

(a) Annual percentage change.
(b) The number of males per one hundred females.
p preliminary estimated resident population.
r revised estimated resident population.


POPULATION

The estimated resident population of Victoria at June 2005 was 5,022,000. This represented an increase of 59,700 people since June 2004 and an annual growth rate of 1.2%.

At June 2005, there were an estimated 3.63 million usual residents in the Melbourne Statistical Division (SD), representing an increase of 41,300 people between June 2004 and June 2005. Melbourne SD was home to nearly three-quarters (72%) of Victoria's population at June 2005 and accounted for 69% of Victoria's population growth during the year ending June 2005.

The map below shows the percentage change in population between June 2004 and 2005 for Victorian SDs. The fastest growth rate was experienced in the SD of Goulburn (1.7%).



MEDIAN AGE

The median age is the age which divides the relevant population into two equal parts. That is, half of the population will be younger than the median age and the other half will be older. Victoria's median age increased slightly from 36.5 years in 2004 to 36.8 years in 2005. The median age of Victorian males in 2005 was 35.9 years (up from 35.7 years in 2004), and 37.6 years for Victorian females (up from 37.3 years in 2004).

Melbourne SD recorded the lowest median age (36.0 years) and was the only SD to record a lower median age than the whole of Victoria (36.8 years). In comparison, the median age in regional Victoria (all SDs, excluding Melbourne) was 39.1 years, with the highest recorded median ages occurring in East Gippsland (42.3 years), Wimmera (41.4 years) and Gippsland (39.9 years).

The LGA which recorded the highest median age in both 2004 and 2005 was Queenscliffe (50.1 years and 51.1 years respectively), reflecting the high proportion of older persons residing there. Other LGAs recording high median ages in 2005 were Strathbogie (47.0 years), Loddon (45.6 years), Buloke (45.4 years) and Bass Coast (45.2 years).

The LGA with the lowest median age in both 2004 and 2005 was Melbourne (28.3 years and 27.8 years respectively). Other LGAs with low median ages in 2004 were Melton (30.8 years), Wyndham (32.2 years), Casey (32.7 years) and Hume (32.8 years).


AGE SEX DISTRIBUTION






Population aged 0-14 years

Children (those persons aged 0-14 years) represented 19.1% of the Victorian population at June 2005, a slight decrease from the 2004 proportion (19.3%). A decline in this age group was experienced nationally during 2004-05, with children representing 19.6% of the Australian population in 2005 compared to 19.8% in 2004.

In 2005, children comprised 20.3% of the population for the remainder of state, compared to 18.6% of the Melbourne SD population. The proportion of children in the population was highest for the SDs of Mallee (21.7%), Goulburn (21.2%) and Western District (21.2%), while the lowest proportions outside Melbourne SD occurred in East Gippsland (19.1%), Barwon (19.4%) and Wimmera (20.0%).

The LGAs with the highest proportion of children in 2005 were Casey (24.6%), Hume (24.2%), Melton (24.1%), Cardinia (23.9%), Mitchell (23.8%) and Wyndham (23.6%). Casey also recorded the highest proportion of children in 2004 (25.0%).

The LGA with the lowest proportion of children at June 2005 was Melbourne (7.2%), which also recorded the lowest proportion of children in 2004 (7.2%). Other LGAs with a low proportion of children in 2005 included Port Philip (10.2%), Yarra (11.2%), Stonnington (13.1%) and Queenscliffe (14.1%).


Population aged 15-64 years

Persons aged 15-64 years accounted for 67.4% of the Victorian population in 2005. This compared to similar proportions at the national level in 2005 and 2004 of 67.3% and 67.2% respectively.

In the year ending June 2005, Melbourne SD recorded the highest proportion of persons aged 15-64 years of 68.7%. This is marginally higher than the Victorian proportion (67.4%). Regional Victoria contained a lower proportion of persons aged 15-64 years (64.1%) than the Victorian total. The lowest proportions of this age group were recorded in the SDs of Wimmera (60.7%), Mallee (62.3%) and Western District (62.7%).

The LGAs containing the highest proportions of persons aged 15-64 years in 2005 were Melbourne (85.7%), Yarra (78.6%) and Port Phillip (78.4%). This was also the case in 2004 (85.5%, 78.7% and 78.6% respectively). In 2005, other LGAs that recorded high proportions of persons aged 15-64 years included Stonnington (72.3%), Melton (71.2%) and Nillumbik (70.5%).

In 2005, the lowest proportions of persons aged 15-64 years were recorded in the LGAs of Queenscliffe (54.8%), Yarriambiack (57.0%) and Hindmarsh (58.2%). Other LGAs which recorded lower proportions of 15-64 year old persons in 2005 included Buloke (58.6%), Gannawarra (59.6%), Central Goldfields (60.0%) and Bass Coast (60.2%).

Population aged 65 and over

Persons aged 65 years and over accounted for 13.5% of the Victorian population in 2005, similar to 2004 when the proportion was 13.4%. The proportion of population aged 65 years and over in Victoria was very similar to the national level in both 2004 and 2005 (13.0% and 13.1% respectively).

Around 12.7% of Melbourne SD's population was aged 65 years and over. Regional Victoria recorded higher proportions of persons aged 65 years and over, with the highest proportions recorded in the SDs of Wimmera (19.3%), East Gippsland (17.8%), Western District and Gippsland (16.1% each).

In 2005, the LGAs with the highest proportions of persons aged 65 years and over were Queenscliffe (31.0%), Yarriambiack (23.3%) and Buloke (22.6%). In 2004, the LGAs with the highest proportions of persons aged 65 years and over were Queenscliffe (30.5%), Yarriambiack (22.8%), Bass Coast and Hindmarsh (both 22.3%).

The LGAs with the lowest proportions of persons aged 65 years and over in 2005 were Melton (4.7%), Wyndham (6.5%), Nillumbik (6.9%), Melbourne (7.1%) and Casey (7.5%). In 2004, the three LGAs with the lowest proportion of persons aged 65 years and over were also Melton, Wyndham and Nillumbik (4.7%, 4.5% and 6.6% respectively).


SEX RATIO

The sex ratio is defined as the number of males per one hundred females. A sex ratio less than 100 indicates that there are fewer males than females in a population. The sex ratio for Victoria remained steady between 2004 and 2005 (97.4 and 97.5 males per 100 females respectively). As shown in figure 3, there were more males than females aged 0-29 years and more females than males aged 30 years and over. The lower sex ratio in the old age groups reflects the longer life expectancy of females.



The highest sex ratio for 2004 and 2005 was recorded in the LGA of Pyrenees (109.7 males per 100 females in each year). In 2005, other LGAs which recorded a high sex ratio were West Wimmera (107.1), Loddon (105.7), Golden Plains (104.5), Buloke (103.9) and Melbourne (103.7).

The lowest sex ratio for 2004 and 2005 was recorded in Queenscliffe (87.9 and 87.7 males per 100 females respectively). Other LGAs that recorded a low sex ratio in 2005 were Bayside (91.7), Boroondara (92.0), Whitehorse (92.1) and Stonnington (93.4).