3106.0 - Demography News, Feb 1999  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 28/02/1999   
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Regional issues

Population growth

Around 60% of Australia's 636 local government areas (LGAs) experienced population increase in the year ending June 1998. Seventeen out of 20 of the LGAs with the largest increase were in the State capitals. Seven were in Sydney, five in Melbourne, three in Perth and two in Brisbane, with the three non-State capital LGAs located in south-east Queensland.

In 1997-98 the population in Australia's capital cities grew at a faster rate than the Balance of State. During the year, Australia's estimated resident population rose by 1.2% to 18.75 million. For the second year in a row Tasmania's population declined.

Regional Population Growth, Australia: 1997-98 provides information on all LGAs and Statistical Local Areas in Australia including the estimated resident population for 1993, 1997 and 1998 and the percentage change that occurred in the population over the last year and last five years.

Click here to see the main features of Regional Population Growth, Australia: 1997-98 (Catalogue no. 3218.0)

Differences in well-being

Regions in Sydney and Melbourne contain both the most advantaged regions in Australia (such as Ku-ring-gai, Mosman and Woollahra in Sydney, and Boroondara - Camberwell South and Bayside - Brighton in Melbourne) as well as among the most disadvantaged regions (Maribyrnong and Brimbank - Sunshine in Melbourne, and Fairfield in Sydney).

Australia in Profile: a Regional Analysis (Catalogue no. 2032.0, $35) uses findings from the 1996 Census of Population and Housing to describe some of the major differences evident in the characteristics and well-being of people living in different parts of Australia. This report allows easy comparison between the circumstances of people who live in urban and rural areas, while also identifying the regions which have the lowest or highest proportion of people with different characteristics.