MAIN FEATURES


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

The estimated resident population of Australia at 30 June 2009 was 21.96 million people. Since June 2004, the Australian population has increased by 1.83 million people or 9.1% (an average of 1.8% per year).

At June 2009, just under one-third (32.5%) of Australia's population resided in New South Wales, down slightly from 33.3% in 2004. The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory contained the smallest proportions of Australia's population (1.0% and 1.6% respectively) of all states and territories, as they did five years prior.

All states and territories experienced population growth between June 2004 and June 2009. Queensland recorded both the largest (524,200 people) and fastest growth (13.4% or an average of 2.6% per year). Tasmania had the smallest and slowest growth, increasing by 20,500 people (4.3% or 0.8% per year).

At June 2009, just over one-fifth (20.5%) of Australia's population resided within the Sydney Statistical Division (SD), down from 20.9% in 2004. Melbourne SD had the largest growth of any capital city SD in the five years to June 2009, gaining 369,500 people. Darwin SD was the fastest growing at 14.9% or 2.8% per year on average. Greater Hobart SD experienced both the slowest (4.9% or 1.0% per year) and smallest growth (9,900 people).

AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION

The following graph (called a population pyramid) compares the age/sex structure of the population residing in capital city SDs with the population residing in the remainder of Australia. Each dark bar illustrates the percentage contribution of a sex and five-year age group to the total population of capital city SDs, while each light bar illustrates the percentage contribution to the remainder of Australia's population. For example, the graph below shows that in June 2009, males aged 0 to 4 years made up 3.4% of the population of the combined capital city SDs compared to 3.3% of the remainder of Australia.

A distinctive feature in the age distribution of Australia at June 2009 was the high representation of people aged 20 to 44 years in capital city SDs. People in this age group represented 38.2% of the population in the combined capital city SDs, compared with 31.6% of the population in the remainder of Australia. This illustrates the attraction of young to middle-aged adults to education, employment and other opportunities in capital cities. In contrast, older adults aged 45 years and over made up a smaller proportion of the population in capital city SDs (36.4%) than in the remainder of Australia (41.6%).

The population pyramid also highlights differences between the sexes. For June 2009, the most notable feature was the higher proportions of females than males in the population aged 75 years and over. This feature was evident in capital city SDs and in the remainder of Australia. The difference was most marked among the population aged 85 years and over and is attributable to the longer life expectancies of female Australians.

At June 2009, 14.04 million people (63.9% of the population) resided in capital city SDs and 7.92 million (36.1%) resided in the remainder of Australia. There were more females (7.08 million) than males (6.96 million) living in capital cities, while more males (3.97 million) than females (3.94 million) resided in the remainder of the country.

Over 70.0% of people aged 25 to 29 years resided in Australia's capital city SDs at June 2009, the highest proportion of any five-year age group. Conversely, the 70 to 74 year age group had the lowest proportion living in Australia's capital cities (58.1%).

MEDIAN AGE

At June 2009, the median age of the Australian population (the age at which half the population is older, and half is younger) was 36.8 years, up from 36.3 years in 2004. The median age of males increased from 35.5 years to 36.0 years and the median age of females increased from 37.1 years to 37.6 years over this period.

The median age of all states and territories increased between 2004 and 2009. In 2004, South Australia had the oldest median age at 38.4 years, however Tasmania overtook South Australia in June 2007 and remained the oldest state or territory at June 2009 with a median age of 39.6 years. The Northern Territory remained the youngest state or territory with a median age of 31.2 years, up from 30.5 in 2004.

The SD with the lowest median age in 2009 was Northern Territory - Bal (29.2 years), followed by North West in Queensland (30.2) and Kimberley in Western Australia (30.5). The highest median ages were recorded in Yorke and Lower North in South Australia (46.2), Mid-North Coast in New South Wales (44.3) and Southern in Tasmania (43.6).

CHILDREN (UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE)

At June 2009, the total number of children under 15 years of age was 4.19 million. This was an increase of 181,100 (4.5%) from 2004, however, the proportion of the total population in this age bracket declined from 19.9% to 19.1%. A decline was recorded across all states and territories.

The Northern Territory continued to have the highest proportion of children (23.4% of its total population) while South Australia continued to have the lowest proportion (17.9%).

In the five years to 2009, Queensland recorded the largest and fastest increase in the number of children aged under 15 years (80,500 or 10.0%). Victoria (39,400) and Western Australia (36,400) also recorded large increases.

The SDs with the highest proportion of children were Northern Territory - Bal (25.9%), North West in Queensland (25.4%) and Kimberley in Western Australia (24.7%). The SDs with the lowest proportion of children were Adelaide (17.3%), York and Lower North (17.7%) in South Australia, and Gold Coast (17.9%) in Queensland.

WORKING AGE POPULATION (AGED 15-64 YEARS)

At June 2009, there were 14.85 million people of working age (15 to 64 years), an increase of 1.31 million (9.7%) since June 2004. The proportion of the total population in this age group increased marginally from 67.3% to 67.6% over this five-year period.

The Australian Capital Territory continued to have the highest proportion of people of working age (71.4%), closely followed by the Northern Territory (71.3%). Tasmania continued to have the lowest proportion (65.3%).

Queensland had the largest growth of people aged 15 to 64 years (362,500 people), followed by Victoria (342,400) and New South Wales (314,000). Queensland also had the equal fastest growth of people of working age, alongside Western Australia (both increased by 13.8%).

The SDs with the highest proportions of working age people were Pilbara in Western Australia (72.8%), Darwin (72.7%) and Canberra (71.4%). The SDs with the lowest proportions were York and Lower North in South Australia (61.2%), Mid-North Coast in New South Wales (61.6%) and Wimmera in Victoria (61.6%).

PEOPLE AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER

There were 2.91 million people aged 65 years and over in Australia at June 2009, an increase of 333,100 or 12.9% since June 2004. The proportion of people in this age group increased in each state and territory over this period, leading to an overall rise from 12.8% of the total population to 13.3%.

South Australia continued to have the highest proportion (15.4%) of people aged 65 years and over, while the Northern Territory continued to have the lowest proportion (5.3%).

The largest increase in people aged 65 years and over occurred in New South Wales (94,500), followed by Queensland (81,200) and Victoria (80,000). Rapid growth of 43.1% occurred in this age group in the Northern Territory, however this added only 3,600 people, the smallest increase of any state or territory.

The SDs with the highest proportion of people aged 65 years and over were Yorke and Lower North in South Australia (21.1%), Mid-North Coast in New South Wales (20.0%) and Wimmera in Victoria (19.9%). The SDs with the lowest proportion of people in this age group were Pilbara in Western Australia (2.6%), Northern Territory - Bal (4.5%) and Kimberley in Western Australia (4.8%).

SEX RATIO

At June 2009, there were 91,900 more females than males residing in Australia, with 10.93 million males and 11.02 million females. The sex ratio (the number of males per 100 females) was 99.2, up from 98.6 in 2004. The sex ratio of the states and territories varied from 97.4 in Tasmania, up to 107.8 in the Northern Territory. Only in the Northern Territory and Western Australia did males outnumber females, while in Queensland the ratio was even (100.0).

The combined sex ratio of all capital cities (98.3) was lower than the sex ratio for the remainder of Australia (100.7). Similarly, in all states and territories except the Northern Territory, the sex ratio was lower in the capital city than the remainder of the state. Darwin had the highest sex ratio (111.4) of all capital cities, followed by Perth (100.9), which was the only other capital city with more males than females. The capital city with the lowest sex ratio was Greater Hobart (94.8).

The SDs with the highest sex ratios were Pilbara in Western Australia (129.2), North West in Queensland (116.8) and South Eastern in Western Australia (114.8), which were all areas with significant resource sector activity. The SDs with the lowest sex ratios were Greater Hobart (94.8), Adelaide (95.6) and Sunshine Coast (96.4).