3218.0 - Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2008-09 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 30/03/2010   
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MEDIA RELEASE
March 30, 2010
Embargoed: 11.30 am (AEDT)
32/2010

Capital city growth rates continue to climb, Perth and Darwin lead: ABS

Population growth rates in Australian capital cities continued to climb faster than the remainder of the country, according to estimates released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Each capital city grew faster in 2008-09 than they did on average over the last five years.

Perth had the highest growth rate (3.2%) closely followed by Darwin (3.1%) while Melbourne recorded the largest increase (93,500 people). Brisbane reached the population milestone of two million.

The combined population of Australian capital cities increased by 310,200 people in the year to June 2009 and accounted for over two-thirds of Australia's population growth.

The growth rate of capital cities was 2.3%. In contrast, the growth of the rest of the country was 1.9%. This difference in growth rates is at a ten year high.

Strong growth in inner-city

The Local Government Areas (LGAs) with the largest and fastest population increases were both inner-city areas. The City of Perth was Australia's fastest-growing LGA, increasing at a rate of 12.8%. The largest overall increase (21,200 people) occurred in the City of Brisbane.

Coastal hotspots

Coastal regions of Australia once again recorded some of the strongest population growth outside of capital cities. The coastal LGAs of Capel (6.0%) and Mandurah (5.1%) in Western Australia were the fastest-growing in the country. In South Australia, Copper Coast had the fastest growth in the state (3.2%).

Large population increases were also recorded in many LGAs on Queensland's seaboard including the Gold Coast (up 15,600 people), Sunshine Coast (9,600), Townsville (5,600) and Cairns (5,200). Lake Macquarie, on the New South Wales coastline, had the largest population growth in the state outside of Sydney, increasing by 2,900 people.

Further information in Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 3218.0) is available for free download from the ABS website at www.abs.gov.au.

Media Note: Unless otherwise stated, capital cities mentioned in this release are defined as Statistical Divisions.

Regional population growth data highlights for 2008-09

NEW SOUTH WALES
· New South Wales had the largest growth (119,500 people) of all Australian states and territories in 2008-09.
· In 2008-09, nine of the ten fastest-growing LGAs in New South Wales were in Sydney, including the adjacent LGAs of Canada Bay (4.7%) and Strathfield (3.4%) in the inner west, and Auburn (3.7%) in central western Sydney.

VICTORIA
· Melbourne’s growth of 93,500 people was the largest of all Australian capital cities in 2008-09.
· The LGA of Wyndham, located on the western suburban fringe of Melbourne, experienced the largest and fastest growth (10,800 people or 8.1%) of all Victorian LGAs.
· The fastest population growth outside of Melbourne occurred in the coastal LGA of Surf Coast (3.9%).

QUEENSLAND
· Queensland had the second largest growth of all states and territories in 2008-09 (116,500 people).
· The three most populous LGAs in Australia, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Moreton Bay, recorded the largest increases in population in 2008-09. Brisbane increased by 21,200 people, the Gold Coast by 15,600 people, and Moreton Bay by 13,300 people.
· Outside of south-east Queensland, the LGA of Townsville had the largest growth in the year to June 2009, with an increase of 5,600 people (3.2%).

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
· Copper Coast, on the northern Yorke Peninsula, and Playford, in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, were the two fastest-growing LGAs in the state, increasing by 3.2% and 2.8% respectively.
· During 2008-09 the two LGAs with the largest population growth in the state were Salisbury in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, which increased by 2,500 people, followed by Onkaparinga in Adelaide's southern suburbs, which increased by 2,300 people.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

· Western Australia again had the fastest growth of all states and territories.
· Strong population growth continued in LGAs on the outer suburban fringes of Perth, such as Wanneroo (up 9,500 people).
· Outside Perth, the South West was the state's fastest growing region (4.0%), followed by the Pilbara (3.1%).

TASMANIA
· Tasmania's population grew by 5,400 people in 2008-09 to 503,300. All four Tasmanian Statistical Divisions experienced population growth.
· The LGAs of Brighton in the south and Latrobe in the north had the fastest rate of population growth in Tasmania. The LGAs with the largest growth in people were Kingborough, Brighton and Clarence in the south, all within commuting distance of Hobart.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
· Palmerston had the fastest population growth (4.4%) of all Northern Territory LGAs in 2008-09.
· Outside of Darwin, the fastest growing LGAs were Roper Gulf (2.5%), Victoria-Daly (2.2%), West Arnhem and East Arnhem (both 2.1%).

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
· In 2008-09, population growth was largest in northern suburban Canberra, especially in the SLAs of Amaroo (600 people), Franklin (560) and Harrison (530).
· For the second year in a row, the population in the north of the Territory exceeded that in the south.

When reporting on ABS data, please attribute either the Australian Bureau of Statistics or ABS as the source.