Where We Live In Australia

Where we live in Australia - 2006 BetaWorks 2N1OVVEIS Abstract Australia became increasingly urbanised in the decade to 2006, with the population in our major cities growing faster than in regional or remote areas. In 2006 over two-thirds of Australia's 21 million residents lived in major cities. This article examines the characteristics of the people living in urban, regional and remote areas of Australia and the population growth in these areas between 1996 and 2006. Australian Social Trends USING STATISTICS TO PAINT A PICTURE OF AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY !! Introduction Australia's population is spread across a diverse range of places, from large metropolitan cities to isolated, outback locations. The distribution of the population is an important issue as it influences policies around service provision, economic perfor- mance and the socio-economic wellbeing of communities. Between 1996 and 2006, Australia's population grew by 2.4 million people. As the population grows, its distribution and composition changes. Please Note: The data displayed in this infographic is used solely for the purpose of the presentation of the infographic concept and is not to be referred to as Official Australian Bureau of Statistics data Population Distribution In 2006, Australia's population reached 20.7 million people. More than two-thirds of people lived in Major Cities (68%) and the remainder (32%) were in Regional and Remote areas. The proportion of the population living in each of the Remoteness Areas (broad geographi- cal areas sharing common characteristics of remoteness) varied considerably across the states and territories. For most of the large states, including New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, people were concentrated in the Major Cities. Queensland had a relatively high proportion of its population in the Inner and Outer Regional areas (37%) compared with the other large states. All of the people living in the Northern Territory were located in either Outer Regional areas (including Darwin) (55%), Remote areas (22%) or Very Remote areas (23%). Northen Territory - 210,627 Darwin - 114,362 Very Remote Remote Outer Regional Inner Regional Major City Queensland - 4,090,908 Brisbane - 1,857,830 Western Australia - 2,059,381 Perth - 1,518,748 New South Wales - 6,816,087I Sydney - 4,281,988 Victoria - 5,126,540 South Australia - 1,567,888 Adeliade - 1,145,812 Melbourne - 3,743,015 Tasmania - 489,951 Hobart - 205,481 Australia - 20,695,501 Australian Capital Territory - 334,119 I Canberra - 333,839 Looking Ahead Australia's population is projected to increase to between 24.9 million and 33.4 million people in 2051 (depending on the prevailing fertility and migration). The ageing of Australia's population, already evident in the current age structure, will also continue. The median age of Australia's population, 36.6 years at June 2006, is projected to increase to between 44.6 years and 48.2 years in 2051. All capital cities are projected to experience higher growth (in percentage terms) than the respective balance of each state and territory, resulting in further concentration of Australia's population within the capital cities. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007, Regional Population Growth, Australia, 1996 to 2006, cat. no. 3218.0, ABS, Canberra