VICTORIA


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 Victoria at 30 June 2010 was 5.55 million people, an increase of 497,300 people (9.9%) since 30 June 2005. The average annual growth of Victoria over this five-year period was 1.9%, making it the fourth fastest growing state or territory behind Western Australia (2.6%), Queensland (2.5%) and Northern Territory (2.2%).

Melbourne Statistical Division (SD) was home to about three-quarters (73.5%, or 4.08 million people) of Victoria's population in June 2010. In the five years to June 2010, the population of Melbourne SD increased by 396,400 (10.8%) and regional Victoria increased by 100,900 (7.4%).

AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION

As with other states and territories in Australia, the age distribution of people living in Victoria's capital city SD was different to that in the rest of the state.

At 30 June 2010, Melbourne SD had a lower proportion of its population aged under 20 years (24.5%) compared to the rest of Victoria (26.1%). This is in contrast to people aged 20 to 39 years, which made up 31.8% of the Melbourne population compared to 23.8% of the rest of Victoria. This reflects a pattern of young adults migrating out of regional areas to pursue work, education and other opportunities in Melbourne.

The difference in age distribution for Melbourne SD and the rest of Victoria was most notable for the 25 to 29 year age group. For this age group, males comprised 4.2% of the Melbourne SD population, compared to 2.9% of the rest of Victoria, while females comprised 4.1% of Melbourne SD compared with 2.8% in the rest of Victoria.

MEDIAN AGE

At June 2010, the median age (the age at which half the population is older and half is younger) of Victorian residents was 36.9 years, up from 36.6 years in June 2005. In the same five-year period, the median age of males increased from 35.7 years to 35.9 years. Females continued to have a higher median age than males, increasing from 37.4 years in June 2005 to 37.9 years in June 2010, reflecting their longer life expectancy.

At June 2010, Melbourne (C) had the lowest median age (27.7 years) of all Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Victoria. This was followed by Wyndham (C) (31.5) and Melton (S) (31.7) which are both located in Melbourne's growth fringes. The three LGAs with the highest median ages were Queenscliffe (B) (54.7 years), Strathbogie (S) (48.7) and Yarriambiack (S) (48.5), all located in regional Victoria.

The median ages for all LGAs in regional Victoria have increased since June 2005. The largest increases were in Yarriambiack (S) (3.5 years), Murrindindi (S) (3.2) and Loddon (S) and Queenscliffe (B) (both 3.0).

The median age for Melbourne (C) was 0.7 years younger in June 2010 than it was five years earlier.

CHILDREN (UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE)

At June 2010, there were 1.02 million children under 15 years of age in Victoria, with boys out numbering girls by 27,000. This age group comprised 18.3% of the total Victorian population, a slight decrease from June 2005 (19.2%).

There was a higher proportion of children living in regional Victoria (19.1%) than in Melbourne SD (18.1%) in 2010. However, in the five years to June 2010, the number of children living in Melbourne SD increased by 49,100, while the number in the rest of Victoria decreased slightly (down 1,000).

At June 2010, the LGAs of Wyndham (C) and Melton (S) had the highest proportion of children (both 24.1%), followed by Cardinia (S) (23.5%), all in Melbourne's growth fringes. Within regional Victoria, Golden Plains (S) had the highest proportion of children under 15 years of age (22.8%).

WORKING AGE POPULATION (AGED 15-64 YEARS)

People of working age (15 to 64 years) represented about two-thirds (68.0%) of the Victorian population in June 2010. The proportion was higher in Melbourne SD (69.2%) than in regional Victoria (64.5%).

The LGAs with the highest proportions of people of working age were Melbourne (C) (88.5%), Port Phillip (C) (79.4%), Yarra (C) (79.1%) and Stonnington (C) (73.0%), all in Melbourne SD.

PEOPLE AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER

In June 2010, more than three-quarters of one million Victorians (759,900 or 13.7%) were aged 65 years and over. This is an increase of 88,300 people since June 2005, when people in this age group comprised 13.3% of the population. There were more females than males aged 65 years and over at June 2010, representing 7.5% and 6.2% of the Victorian population respectively.

There was a lower proportion of older people in Melbourne SD (12.7%) than in regional Victoria (16.4%).

Queenscliffe (B) (33.1%) on the coast south-east of Geelong was the LGA with the highest proportion of its population aged 65 years and over, followed by the North Wimmera LGAs of Hindmarsh (S) (25.4%) and Yarriambiack (S) (24.7%).

SEX RATIO

The sex ratio for Victoria was 98.4 in June 2010, indicating there were 98.4 males for every 100 females. However, in the LGA of Melbourne (C) and many parts of regional Victoria there were more males than females.

The five LGAs with the highest ratio of males per 100 females were all in regional Victoria. These were Murrindindi (S) (107.0), Golden Plains (S) (105.9), Pyrenees (S) (105.3), Swan Hill (RC) (105.2) and Mitchell (S) (104.9). In Melbourne SD, the highest sex ratios were found in the LGAs of Maribyrnong (C) (104.8) and Melbourne (C) (104.4).

The LGAs with the lowest sex ratios included Bayside (C) (92.5), Whitehorse (C) (93.5) and Stonnington (C) (95.1) in Melbourne SD, and Queenscliffe (B) (85.3), Ballarat (C) (94.3) and Warnambool (C) (95.1) in regional Victoria.

At June 2010, there were more males than females in each five-year age group from 0 to 34 years. In contrast, there were more females than males in each five-year age group from 35 to 39 years up to 85 years and over, reflecting the longer life expectancy of women.