SOUTH AUSTRALIA


TOTAL POPULATION

AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION

MEDIAN AGE

CHILDREN (UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE)

WORKING AGE POPULATION (AGED 15-64 YEARS)

PEOPLE AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER

SEX RATIO


TOTAL POPULATION

At 30 June 2008 the estimated resident population of South Australia was 1.60 million.

Almost three quarters (73.1%) of the state's population resided in the Adelaide Statistical Division (SD) in June 2008, a proportion virtually unchanged since June 1996. The population of each SD in South Australia grew in the five years to June 2008. Outer Adelaide was the state's fastest-growing SD in these five years, increasing by 11.9%, or 2.3% per year on average, which was well above the state's average annual growth rate of 0.9%.

References to Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) in this summary exclude those with populations of less than 2,000 in June 2008.

AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION

Compared with the remainder of the state, the Adelaide SD had a lower proportion of its population aged under 18 years and a higher proportion aged 18 to 39 years in June 2008. This is indicative of young adults moving to the capital city for work or study purposes.

The difference between the age distribution in the Adelaide SD and the remainder of SA was evident for both sexes. The difference was most significant for the 20 to 24 years age group, in which females made up 3.8% of the Adelaide SD population compared with 2.4% in the remainder of the state, and males comprised 3.8% of the Adelaide SD population compared with 2.8% in the remainder of the state.

For people of all ages, the estimated resident population of the Adelaide SD was 2.7 times greater than that of the remainder of the state, but for people aged 20 to 24 years the population of the Adelaide SD was four times greater than that of the remainder of the state.

MEDIAN AGE

In June 2008 South Australia had the second-highest median age (the age at which half the population is older and half is younger) of all states and territories (behind Tasmania), with a median age of 39.0 years. The LGA of Victor Harbor (C) had the highest median age in Australia at 54.2 years, increasing from 51.9 years in June 2003. Next highest in South Australia were Yorke Peninsula (DC) at 50.5 years, Yankalilla (DC) at 48.8 years, Tumby Bay (DC) at 48.1 years and Barunga West (DC) at 48.0 years, all of which were among the top ten in Australia. The median age for the LGA of Anangu Pitjantjatjara (AC), 28.3 years, was the lowest in South Australia, followed by Roxby Downs (M) (30.0 years), Adelaide (C) (31.4 years), Playford (C) (34.1 years) and Salisbury (C) (35.0 years).


CHILDREN (UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE)

In June 2008 South Australia had 289,900 people aged 0 to 14 years, which was 18.1% of the state's total population. Of LGAs with more than 2,000 people, those with the largest proportions of children were Roxby Downs (M) (25.6%), Anangu Pitjantjatjara (AC) (25.3%), Ceduna (DC) (23.2%), Light (RegC) (23.0%) and Playford (C) (22.9%). Of the twenty-five LGAs in South Australia that had 20% or more of their population aged 0 to 14 years, all but two were outside of the Adelaide SD.

WORKING AGE POPULATION (AGED 15-64 YEARS)

South Australia had 1.07 million people aged 15 to 64 years in June 2008, representing 66.6% of the state's population. The LGA with the highest proportion of its population of working age was Adelaide (C) at 84.1%, which was up from 81.6% in June 2003. Adelaide (C)was followed by Roxby Downs (M), with 73.6% of its population of working age, Prospect (C) (70.0%), Unley (C) (69.4%) and Anangu Pitjantjatjara (AC) (69.2%).

PEOPLE AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER

In June 2008, 15.3% of the population in South Australia was aged 65 years or over. The five LGAs with the highest proportions of their populations aged 65 years or older were coastal and rural areas: Victor Harbor (C) (31.9%), Yorke Peninsula (DC) (25.1%), Copper Coast (DC) (23.0%), Tumby Bay (DC) (22.9%) and Yankalilla (DC) (22.8%). All of these percentages had increased since five years earlier. In the Adelaide SD Holdfast Bay (C) (21.5%) had the highest proportion of people aged 65 years and over, although this proportion had declined from 23.5% in June 2003, when it was the LGA with the second-highest proportion of its population in that age group (after Victor Harbor).

SEX RATIO

South Australia's sex ratio (the number of males per 100 females) was 97.5 in June 2008, with 791,600 males and 811,800 females.

Of LGAs with more than 2,000 people, the highest ratio of males per 100 females was in Roxby Downs (M) (135.9), which was also among the top five in Australia, followed by Mid Murray (DC) (115.3), Streaky Bay (DC) (115.0) and Lower Eyre Peninsula (DC) (114.6). Unley (C) (87.7), Burnside (C) (88.8), Holdfast Bay (C) (89.3), Norwood Payneham St Peters (C) (90.0) and Walkerville (M) (90.4) had the lowest sex ratios in South Australia, and each was also among the ten LGAs with the lowest sex ratios in Australia.