Australia
Capital cities
Median age
At June 2018 the median age (the age at which half the population is older and half is younger) for all greater capital cities combined (35.9 years) was younger than for the rest of Australia (41.1).
Hobart had the oldest median age of all capital cities at 39.7 years, ahead of Adelaide at 38.8.
Darwin was the youngest capital city with a median age of 33.9 years, followed by the Australian Capital Territory at 35.1.
Sex ratio
The sex ratio (the number of males per 100 females) for all greater capital cities combined (98.3) was slightly lower than for the rest of Australia (98.6) at June 2018.
Adelaide had the lowest sex ratio of all capital cities (96.7 males per 100 females), while Darwin had the highest (110.9).
Darwin was the only capital city where males outnumbered females.
SEX RATIOS AND MEDIAN AGES - Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs), 2018 |
|
 | Sex Ratio | Median Age(a) |
GCCSA | males per 100 females | years |
|
Greater Sydney | 98.9 | 35.8 |
Greater Melbourne | 97.9 | 35.6 |
Greater Brisbane | 97.8 | 35.4 |
Greater Adelaide | 96.7 | 38.8 |
Greater Perth | 98.9 | 36.4 |
Greater Hobart | 99.1 | 39.7 |
Greater Darwin | 110.9 | 33.9 |
Australian Capital Territory | 98.0 | 35.1 |
 |
Total Greater Capital Cities | 98.3 | 35.9 |
 |
Total Australia | 98.4 | 37.3 |
|
(a) The age at which half the population is older and half is younger. |
Age and sex distribution
The following graph (called a 'population pyramid') compares the age/sex structure of the population in greater capital cities with the rest of Australia at June 2018. Each dark bar shows the percentage contribution of a sex and five-year age group to the total population of capital cities, while each light bar shows the contribution to the rest of Australia's population. For example, the graph shows that in June 2018, males aged 0 to 4 years made up 3.3% of the population of the combined capital cities compared with 3.1% of the rest of Australia.
People aged 20 to 44 years made up 38% of the combined capital city population, compared with 30% of the population in the rest of Australia. This reflects the attraction of younger adults to education, employment and other opportunities in capital cities.
Older adults aged 45 years and over made up a smaller proportion of the population in capital cities (37%) than in the rest of Australia (45%).
In both capital cities and the rest of Australia, there were higher proportions of females than males in older age groups. The difference was most marked among the population aged 85 years and over, and is due to the longer life expectancy of female Australians.
AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION (%), Greater capital cities and rest of Australia
- 30 June 2018

Females outnumbered males in both capital cities (8.50 million females to 8.36 million males) and the rest of the country (4.09 million females to 4.04 million males).
AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION ('000), Greater capital cities and rest of Australia
- 30 June 2018
Statistical Areas Level 2
Median age
The Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) with the highest median ages in 2018 were all popular retirement destinations on Australia's coast, including:
- Tea Gardens - Hawks Nest (62.7 years) and Tuncurry (61.1) in New South Wales
- Bribie Island (60.0) and Cooloola (59.5) in Queensland
The areas with the lowest median ages were:
- Acton (21.6 years) and Duntroon (22.3) in the Australian Capital Territory, which had large populations of students or military personnel
- Yarrabah (22.8) and Northern Peninsula (23.2) in Queensland, which had high proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
SA2s WITH OLDEST AND YOUNGEST MEDIAN AGES(a), 2018 |
|
 |  | Median Age |
SA2 | SA4 | years |
OLDEST MEDIAN AGES |
|
Tea Gardens - Hawks Nest | Hunter Valley exc Newcastle (NSW) | 62.7 |
Tuncurry | Mid North Coast (NSW) | 61.1 |
Bribie Island | Moreton Bay - North (Qld) | 60.0 |
Cooloola | Wide Bay (Qld) | 59.5 |
Sussex Inlet - Berrara | Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven (NSW) | 59.2 |
YOUNGEST MEDIAN AGES |
|
Acton | Australian Capital Territory | 21.6 |
Duntroon | Australian Capital Territory | 22.3 |
Yarrabah | Cairns (Qld) | 22.8 |
Northern Peninsula | Queensland - Outback | 23.2 |
St Lucia | Brisbane - West | 24.2 |
|
(a) Excludes SA2s with less than 1,000 people. |
Sex ratio
The SA2s with the highest sex ratios were:
- Howard Springs (306.3 males per 100 females) in Darwin, which contains the Darwin Correctional Centre
- East Pilbara (292.1) and Ashburton (245.1) in Western Australia, which are areas with significant mining activity
Areas with low sex ratios often had high proportions of elderly population, reflecting the longer life expectancy of females. The SA2s with the lowest sex ratios included:
- Deakin (82.0 males per 100 females) in the Australian Capital Territory and Mosman Park - Peppermint Grove (84.6) in Perth, which both also contain boarding schools for girls
- The Sydney areas of Woollahra (82.4), and Castle Hill - East (84.7) which has a relatively high number of aged care residents
SA2s WITH HIGHEST AND LOWEST SEX RATIOS(a), 2018 |
|
 |  | Sex Ratio |
SA2 | SA4 | males per 100 females |
HIGHEST SEX RATIOS |
|
Howard Springs | Darwin | 306.3 |
East Pilbara | Western Australia - Outback (North) | 292.1 |
Ashburton | Western Australia - Outback (North) | 245.1 |
Wacol | Ipswich (Qld) | 241.0 |
Duntroon | Australian Capital Territory | 229.2 |
LOWEST SEX RATIOS |
|
Deakin | Australian Capital Territory | 82.0 |
Woollahra | Sydney - Eastern Suburbs | 82.4 |
Mosman Park - Peppermint Grove | Perth - Inner | 84.6 |
Castle Hill - East | Sydney - Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury | 84.7 |
Millbank - Avoca | Wide Bay (Qld) | 85.1 |
|
(a) Excludes SA2s with less than 1,000 people. |
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