Australia: Metropolitan area populations for 2015 -Released August 18, 2016

Australia: Metropolitan area populations for 2015
Released 18 August 2016

Australian Bureau of Statistics

At 30 June 2015, Australia’s estimated resident population (ERP) was 23.78 million, an increase of 1.75 million people (7.9%) in the five years since 30 June 2010.

In 2015, just under one third (32%) of Australia’s population resided in New South Wales, while a quarter (25%) lived in Victoria.

The population grew in each of Australia’s states and territories between 2010 and 2015, with the largest increases in the country’s three most populous states.

Victoria had the greatest growth (up by 476,400 people), followed by New South Wales (473,400) and Queensland (374,100). Western Australia had the fastest growth, increasing by 13%, followed by Victoria (8.7%), Queensland (8.5%) and the Australian Capital Territory (8.0%). Tasmania had both the smallest and slowest growth, increasing by 7,700 people or 1.5%.

In 2015, just over one fifth of Australia’s population lived within Greater Sydney, while just under one fifth lived in Greater Melbourne.

Greater Melbourne had the largest population growth of any capital city between 2010 and 2015, gaining 423,600 people. Greater Perth grew by 14%, which was the fastest growth of all capital cities in Australia. Greater Hobart experienced both the smallest (6,300 people) and slowest (2.9%) growth.

New South Wales
At June 2015, the estimated resident population of New South Wales (NSW) was 7.62 million people, an increase of 473,400 people (6.6%) since June 2010.

Greater Sydney population 4.92 million

The population of Greater Sydney at June 2015 was 4.92 million people. This represented 65% of the total NSW population.
Of those 2.70 million people living in the rest of NSW, almost half (47%) resided in the coastal SA4s of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, Illawarra, Richmond – Tweed, Mid North Coast and Coffs Harbour – Grafton.

Victoria
The estimated resident population of Victoria at June 2015 was 5.94 million people. In the five years to 2015, Victoria had the largest population growth of all states and territories, with an increase of 476,400 people.

Greater Melbourne population 4.53 million

In 2015, there were 4.53 million people living in 4.92 million, accounting for 76% of Victoria’s population.
Between 2010 and 2015, the population of Greater Melbourne increased by 423,600, which was 89% of Victoria’s total growth. Over the same period, Melbourne – West had the largest and fastest growth of all SA4s in Greater Melbourne, with an increase of 109,100 people (18%).

The rest of Victoria (outside of Greater Melbourne) grew by 52,700 people between 2010 and 2015. Geelong had the largest and fastest growth of all SA4s in the rest of Victoria over this period, with an increase of 21,900 people (8.7%). Other SA4s outside Greater Melbourne with large growth in the five years to 2015 were Latrobe – Gippsland (up by 9,900 people) and Ballarat (up 9,300).

Queensland
At June 2015, the estimated resident population of Queensland was 4.78 million people, an increase of 374,100 since June 2010. In the five years to 2015, Queensland’s population grew by 8.5%. This was the third-fastest growth of all states and territories, behind Western Australia (13%) and Victoria (8.7%).

Greater Brisbane population 2.31 million

In 2015, Greater Brisbane (which excludes the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast) was home to 2.31 million people, or almost half of Queensland’s population.

Greater Brisbane increased by 200,400 people in the five years to 2015, accounting for just over half of Queensland’s total population growth. Ipswich had the largest growth of all SA4s in Greater Brisbane, with an increase of 39,800 people, while Moreton Bay – South had the fastest growth at 15% over the five years.

In the five years to 2015, the population of the rest of Queensland increased by 173,700 people to reach 2.47 million. The SA4s of Gold Coast (up by 50,300 people) and Sunshine Coast (27,200) accounted for 45% of this growth. Other SA4s that experienced large growth were Fitzroy (up by 22,100 people) and Townsville (17,400).

South Australia
At June 2015, the estimated resident population of South Australia (SA) was 1.70 million people, an increase of 71,300 (or 4.4%) since June 2010.

Greater Adelaide population 1.32 million
More then three quarters of the state’s population (78%) resided in Greater Adelaide in 2015. The growth rate of Greater Adelaide in the five years to 2015 (5.1%) was more than twice that of the rest of SA (2.0%). Between 2010 and 2015, Greater Adelaide grew by 63,700 people to reach 1.32 million, while the rest of the state grew by 7,700 people to reach 381,900.

Within Greater Adelaide, the SA3 of Adelaide City had the fastest growth over this five-year period, increasing by 13%. This was followed by Playford (12%), Port Adelaide – East (11%), Gawler – Two Wells (7.3%) and Charles Sturt (6.1%). No SA3s in Greater Adelaide declined in population over this period.

Outside of Greater Adelaide, the SA3 of Fleurieu – Kangaroo Island had the fastest growth between 2010 and 2015 (up by 7.3%), followed by Barossa (4.7%) and Yorke Peninsula (3.6%). Mid North was the only SA3 in the rest of the state to decline in population, down by 2.1%.

Western Australia
At June 2015, the estimated resident population of Western Australia (WA) was 2.59 million people. WA’s population increased by 299,400 people, or 13%, in the five years to 2015. This was the fastest growth of all states and territories.

Greater Perth population 2.04 million

Over three quarters (79%) of the state’s population lived in Greater Perth in 2015. In the five years to 2015, the population in Greater Perth increased by 258,100 to reach 2.04 million. Over the same period, the rest of WA increased by 41,400 people to reach 551,100.

The population of each SA3 in WA grew between 2010 and 2015. The fastest-growing SA3s were Serpentine – Jarrahdale (up by 40%), Armadale (30%), and Kwinana (28%), all located in Greater Perth.

Tasmania
At June 2015, the estimated resident population of Tasmania was 516,600 people, an increase of 7,700 people (1.5%) since June 2010.

Greater Hobart population 221,000
The population of Greater Hobart at June 2015 was 221,000 people. This represented 43% of Tasmania’s total population. Hobart SA4 had the largest growth since June 2010 (up by 6,300 people), followed by Launceston and North East (770 people) and South East (750), while the population of West and North West decreased by 60.

Northern Territory
The estimated resident population of the Northern Territory (NT) at June 2015 was 244,300 people, an increase of 14,500 (6.3%) since June 2010.

Greater Darwin population 142,300
Greater Darwin consists of the SA3s of Darwin City, Darwin Suburbs, Litchfield and Palmerston. These areas were home to over half (58%) of the NT’s total population in 2015, increasing by 14,400 people since 2010 to reach 142,300. Over the same five-year period, the rest of the NT increased by 100 people to reach 102,000.

Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory population 390,700
The estimated resident population of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) at June 2015 was 390,700 people, an increase of 28,900 since June 2010.

This represents growth of 8.0% over the five-year period, just above Australia’s growth rate of 7.9%.

In the five years to 2015, almost all of the ACT’s growth occurred in the two northern SA3s of Gungahlin and North Canberra, and the southern SA3 of Cotter – Namadgi (up by 31,500 people combined). The SA3s that declined in population over this period were Tuggeranong and Weston Creek in the south (down by 5,700 people combined).