A common theme, but PLACE really does matter!
The ABS Regional Populations data released last week shows a varied story of population growth and decline.
The Big Picture
- All states and territories experienced population growth between 2015 and 2016.
- This is NOT the case for each Local Government Area, particularly in Victoria.
The Largest
- Victoria had the greatest growth (123,100 people), followed by New South Wales (105,600) and Queensland (64,700).
The Fastest
- Victoria also grew fastest, increasing by 2.1%, followed by New South Wales and Queensland (both 1.4%), the Australian Capital Territory (1.3%) and Western Australia (1.0%). The Northern Territory had the slowest growth (0.2%), followed by South Australia and Tasmania (both 0.5%).
The Urban
- The combined population of Greater Capital Cities increased by 276,500 people (1.7%) between 30 June 2015 and 30 June 2016, accounting for 82% of the country’s total population growth.
The Largest City Growth
- Melbourne had the largest growth of all Greater Capital Cities (107,800), followed by Sydney (82,800), Brisbane (41,100) and Perth (27,400).
The Fastest City Growth
- Melbourne also had the fastest growth (2.4%), ahead of Brisbane (1.8%) and Sydney (1.7%).
The LOCAL
- The three Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) with the largest population growth in Australia in 2015-16 were outer suburbs of Greater Melbourne: South Morang in the city’s north, Cranbourne East in the south-east (both 5,000), and Craigieburn – Mickleham (4,500) in the north.
