AGE AND SEX
There were 168,800 females ( 50.5%) and 165,500 males (49.5%) in the ACT at June 2006. The five-year age group bracket with the largest proportion of the ACT population was 20-24 year olds, with 29,700 people (9%) in this age group at June 2006. This is associated with tertiary students studying within the ACT, as well as other young adults coming to the ACT to take up employment opportunities. The next largest age group was 25-29 year olds (27,300), followed by 30-34 year olds (26,300).
At June 2006, the median age of the ACT population was 34.4 years, 2.2 years younger than the median age of Australia's population (36.6 years). The ACT had the second lowest median age of all states and territories, behind the Northern Territory at 30.9 years.
The median age of males in the ACT at June 2006 was 33.6 years, and the median age of females was 35.1 years. Nationally, median ages for males and females were 35.9 years and 37.4 years, respectively.
Figure 5.4 below shows the age structure of the ACT population in 1986 and 2006. In 1986, nearly three quarters of the ACT population (72%) were aged under 40 years, and more than a quarter (26%) were aged under 15 years. In 2006, 59% of the ACT population were aged under 40 years, with a just under one in five (19%) aged under 15 years.
5.4 Population structure, By age and sex
: ACT
- June 1986 and June 2006
