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 2010 was 22.33 million people. Since June 2005, the Australian population has increased by 1.93 million people or 9.5% (an average of 1.8% per year).

At June 2010, just under one-third (32.4%) of Australia's population resided in New South Wales, down slightly from 33.1% in 2005. 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 2005 and June 2010. Queensland recorded the largest growth (519,000 people), while Western Australia recorded the fastest growth (13.7% or an average of 2.6% per year). Tasmania had the smallest and slowest growth, increasing by 21,300 people (4.4% or 0.9% per year).

At June 2010, just over one-fifth (20.5%) of Australia's population resided within Sydney Statistical Division (SD), down slightly from 20.8% in 2005. Melbourne SD had the largest growth of any capital city SD in the five years to June 2010, gaining 396,400 people. Darwin SD was the fastest growing at 14.6% or 2.8% on average per year. Greater Hobart SD experienced both the slowest (5.5% or 1.1% per year) and smallest (11,200 people) growth.

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 shows that in June 2010, 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 2010 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 combined capital city SD population compared to 31.7% 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 (36.6%) than in the remainder of Australia (41.9%).

The population pyramid also highlights differences between the sexes. For June 2010, 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 2010, 14.30 million people (64.0% of the population) resided in capital city SDs and 8.03 million (36.0%) resided in the remainder of Australia. There were more females (7.21 million) than males (7.09 million) living in capital cities, while more males (4.03 million) than females (4.00 million) resided in the remainder of the country.

The majority (70.3%) of people aged 25 to 29 years resided in Australia's capital city SDs at June 2010, 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 (58.0%).

MEDIAN AGE

At June 2010, the median age of the Australian population (the age at which half the population is older, and half is younger) was 36.9 years, up from 36.5 years in 2005. The median age of males increased from 35.7 to 36.0 years and the median age of females increased from 37.3 to 37.8 years over this period.

The median age of all states and territories increased between 2005 and 2010. In 2005, South Australia and Tasmania had the equal oldest median age, both at 38.6 years. However, between 2005 and 2010, the median age of Tasmania increased more than any other to become the oldest state or territory at 39.9 years in 2010. The Northern Territory remained the youngest state or territory with a median age of 31.2 years, up from 30.7 in 2005.

The SD with the lowest median age at June 2010 was Northern Territory - Bal (29.4 years), followed by North West in Queensland (29.9) and Kimberley in Western Australia (30.7). The highest median ages were recorded in Yorke and Lower North in South Australia (46.5 years), Mid-North Coast in New South Wales (44.6) and Southern in Tasmania (44.2).

CHILDREN (UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE)

At June 2010, the total number of children under 15 years of age was 4.23 million. This was an increase of 208,100 (5.2%) from 2005, however the proportion of the total population in this age group declined from 19.7% to 18.9%. A decline was recorded across all states and territories.

The Northern Territory continued to have the highest proportion of children at June 2010 (23.1% of its total population), while South Australia continued to have the lowest proportion (17.8%).

In the five years to 2010, Queensland recorded the largest increase in the number of children aged under 15 years (80,200), followed by Victoria (48,100) and Western Australia (41,600). Western Australia also recorded the fastest growth in this age group (10.3%) over this period.

At June 2010, the SDs with the highest proportion of children were Northern Territory - Bal (25.6%), North West in Queensland (25.5%) and Pilbara in Western Australia (24.6%). The SDs with the lowest proportion of children were Adelaide (17.2%), Yorke and Lower North in South Australia (17.6%), and Gold Coast (17.7%) in Queensland.

WORKING AGE POPULATION (AGED 15-64 YEARS)

At June 2010, there were 15.09 million people of working age (15 to 64 years), an increase of 1.36 million or 9.9% since June 2005. The proportion of the total population in this age group increased marginally from 67.3% to 67.6% over this five-year period.

The Northern Territory had the highest proportion of people of working age at June 2010 (71.4%), overtaking the Australian Capital Territory (71.2%) for the first time in over 20 years. Tasmania continued to have the lowest proportion (65.2%).

Between June 2005 and June 2010, Victoria had the largest growth of people aged 15 to 64 years (361,000), followed by Queensland (350,900) and New South Wales (339,300). Western Australia had the fastest growth of people of working age (14.1% over this five-year period), followed by Queensland (13.0%).

The SDs with the highest proportions of working age people at June 2010 were Pilbara in Western Australia (72.7%), Darwin (72.7%) and Canberra (71.2%). The SDs with the lowest proportions were Yorke and Lower North in South Australia (61.0%), Mid-North Coast in New South Wales (61.5%) and Wimmera in Victoria (61.9%).

PEOPLE AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER

There were 3.01 million people aged 65 years and over in Australia at June 2010, an increase of 370,600 people or 14.0% since June 2005. The proportion of people in this age group increased in each state and territory over this period, leading to an overall rise from 12.9% of the total population to 13.5%.

In 2010, Tasmania joined South Australia in having the highest proportion (15.6%) of people aged 65 years and over. The Northern Territory continued to have the lowest proportion (5.5%).

In the five years to June 2010, the largest increases in people aged 65 years and over occurred in New South Wales (110,300), Victoria (88,300) and Queensland (87,900). Rapid growth of 43.4% occurred in this age group in the Northern Territory over this period, however this added only 3,800 people, the smallest increase of any state or territory.

The SDs with the highest proportion of people aged 65 years and over at June 2010 were Yorke and Lower North in South Australia (21.4%), Mid-North Coast in New South Wales (20.4%) and Wimmera in Victoria (20.1%). The SDs with the lowest proportion of people in this age group were Pilbara in Western Australia (2.7%), Northern Territory - Bal (4.7%) and Kimberley in Western Australia (4.9%).

SEX RATIO

At June 2010, there were 94,600 more females than males residing in Australia, with 11.12 million males and 11.21 million females. The sex ratio (the number of males per hundred females) was 99.2, up from 98.6 in 2005. The sex ratio of the states and territories at June 2010 varied from 97.3 in Tasmania, up to 107.7 in the Northern Territory. Only in the Northern Territory and Western Australia did males outnumber females, while in Queensland the ratio was almost even (99.9%).

The combined sex ratio of all capital city SDs (98.3) was lower than the sex ratio for the remainder of Australia (100.7). Similarly, in all states and territories except for the Northern Territory, the sex ratio was lower in the capital city than in the remainder of the state. Darwin had the highest sex ratio (111.0) of all the capital cities, followed by Perth (101.0) which was the only other capital city with more males than females. The capital city with the lowest sex ratio was Greater Hobart (94.9).

The SDs with the highest sex ratios were Pilbara in Western Australia (129.3), North West in Queensland (117.2) and South Eastern in Western Australia (114.4), which were all areas with significant resource sector activity. The SDs with the lowest sex ratios were Greater Hobart (94.9), Adelaide (95.7) and Sunshine Coast (96.3).