WESTERN AUSTRALIA

TOTAL POPULATION

The estimated resident population of Western Australia at June 2006 was 2.06 million, an increase of 157,900 people or 8.3% since June 2001. There were slightly more males (1,040,000) than females (1,019,000).

Almost three-quarters (74%) of the state population resided in the Perth Statistical Division (SD) and this proportion has remained virtually unchanged since 1991.

The majority of SDs recorded an increase in population in the five years to June 2006. The largest percentage increases were for the Pilbara (12.3%), South West (12.2%) and Perth (9.1%) SDs. Midlands and Upper Great Southern SDs experienced slight declines in population (both by 0.6%).
From June 2001 to 2006, the fastest growing Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Western Australia were Perth (C) (60.7%), Capel (S) (49.6%) and Wanneroo (C) (37.3%). Excluding LGAs with less than 2,000 people, the fastest declines were in Derby-West Kimberley (S) (by 9.3%), Merredin (S) (8.8%) and Carnarvon (S) (8.4%).


AGE DISTRIBUTION

The Western Australian population has continued to age, with people aged 65 years or more comprising 11.7% of state's population in 2006; this compares with 11.0% in 2001. While the proportion of older residents in Western Australia continued to increase, the proportion of younger people continued to decline. At June 2006, the proportion of the state's population aged under 15 years was 19.9% compared with 21.1% in 2001.


MEDIAN AGE

The median age, the age at which half the population is younger and half is older, increased in Western Australia between 2001 and 2006, from 34.9 to 36.2 years. At June 2006, the median age for males was 35.6 years and for females it was 36.9 years.

The median age of the Western Australian population was slightly lower than the national figure of 36.6 years.

At the SD level, Midlands had the highest median age (40.4 years) in 2006, it also had the largest increase since 2001 (up 3.4 years from 37.0 years). The Lower Great Southern (39.4 years) and South West (39.3 years) SDs also had median ages above the state figure. Kimberley and Pilbara SDs had the lowest median ages of 29.9 years and 31.1 years respectively. The median age of the Perth SD was 36.0 years.

The LGAs of greater than 2,000 people in 2006 with the highest median ages were York (S) (45.0 years) and Denmark (S) (44.6). In contrast, Halls Creek (S) and Derby-West Kimberley (S) had the lowest median ages of 25.1 and 27.7 years respectively.


CHILDREN (UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE)

At June 2006, there were 410,000 children aged 0-14 years in Western Australia. Boys outnumbered girls by 13,600 and together they comprised almost 20% of the state's population.

The SDs with the largest proportions of children aged 0-14 years were Kimberley (26.4%) and Pilbara (25.3%) while the Perth SD had the smallest proportion (19.1%).

The LGAs of Halls Creek (S) (31.0%) and Derby-West Kimberley (S) (29.1%) had the highest proportions of children aged 0-14 years, after excluding LGAs with less than 2,000 people. Perth (C) had by far the lowest proportion (4.8%).


WORKING POPULATION (AGED 15-64 YEARS)

From June 2001 to 2006, the number of people aged 15-64 years increased by 9.1% to an estimated 1,408,000 people, representing 68.4% of the total population.

Across the SDs, Pilbara (SD) had the largest proportion of its population aged 15-64 years (72.4%). This reflects the current employment opportunities in the resources sector in this region. Perth (69.2%), South Eastern (69.1%) and Kimberley (69.0%) SDs also had larger proportions of their populations in this age group. Lower Great Southern and South West SDs had the smallest proportions of people aged 15-64 years (64.2% and 64.5% respectively).

At the LGA level, Perth (C) had 85.5% of its population aged 15-64 years, this high proportion being due to large numbers of city workers and tertiary students choosing inner-city accommodation. Other than Perth (C), Subiaco (C) (75.8%) and Mandurah (C) (61.1%) were the LGAs with the highest and lowest proportions of its population in this age group, after excluding LGAs with less than 2,000 people.


OLDER PEOPLE

AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER

The number of older people (aged 65 years and over) in Western Australia increased by 32,200 (15.4%) to 241,400 in the five years to 2006. In this age group, the number of females exceeded the number of males, with 84.9 males for every 100 females.

At the SD level, the South West and Lower Great Southern SDs had the highest proportions of their residents aged 65 years and over (14.9% and 14.5% respectively). In contrast Pilbara SD (2.3%) and Kimberley SD (4.6%) had the lowest proportions of their population aged 65 years and over. This reflects both the high concentrations of working age people in the region as well as relatively large Indigenous populations which have higher fertility rates and lower life expectancies.

Mandurah (C), a popular retirement destination in the South West SD, was the LGA with the highest proportion of its residents aged 65 years and over (20.4%). In contrast, Ashburton (S) had 1.7% of its population aged 65 years and over while Roebourne (S) had 1.9%.

AGED 85 YEARS AND OVER

At June 2006, there were 27,500 people aged 85 years and over in Western Australia. This age group accounted for 1.3% of the state population and 11.4% of those aged 65 years and over.

From June 2001 to June 2006, the number of people aged 85 years and over increased by 19.0%. In June 2006 there were more than twice as many females (18,600) as males (8,800) in this group, reflecting the higher life expectancy of females.

At LGA level, the inner metropolitan suburb of Claremont (C) had 3.7% of its population aged 85 years and over. Nedlands (C), also inner metropolitan, and Brookton (S) in the rural countryside each had 3.5% of their population in this age group.


SEX RATIO

In June 2006, the sex ratio (number of males per 100 females) in Western Australia was 102.0. Males outnumbered females in all SDs except Perth where there were 759,500 males and 760,000 females. The sex ratio ranged from 99.9 in Perth SD to 126.4 in the Pilbara SD.

At the LGA level (excluding LGAs with less than 2,000 people) Ravensthorpe (S) had the highest sex ratio (158.5). In contrast, Mosman Park (T) had the lowest sex ratio (87.0).

Across all age groups, the non-metropolitan region had higher sex ratios than Perth SD.