NEW SOUTH WALES

TOTAL POPULATION

At June 2014, the estimated resident population of New South Wales (NSW) was 7.5 million people, an increase of 464,700 people (6.6%) since June 2009.

The population of Greater Sydney at June 2014 was 4.8 million people. This represented 64% of the total NSW population. Of those 2.7 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.


AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION

The age distribution of Greater Sydney was younger than for the rest of the state. At June 2014, 31% of Greater Sydney's population were aged 20 to 39 years, compared with 23% in the rest of the state. Conversely, in the rest of NSW, 25% of the population were aged 60 years or over, compared with 18% of the population in Greater Sydney.

MEDIAN AGE

At June 2014, the median age (the age at which half the population is older and half is younger) of the NSW population was 37.9 years. Reflecting their continued higher life expectancy, the median age for females (38.8 years) was higher than for males (37.0).

As indicated by its younger age profile, the median age of Greater Sydney (36.2 years) was lower than for the rest of NSW (41.6).

Within Greater Sydney, the SA2s with the highest median ages were Wentworth Falls (48.5 years) and Blackheath - Megalong Valley (48.4) in the Blue Mountains, and Erina - Green Point (48.0) on the Central Coast. The SA2 with the lowest median age was Kensington - Kingsford (28.4 years), which contains the University of NSW. This was followed by Lethbridge Park - Tregear (30.1 years) in the Mount Druitt region, and Auburn (30.2) and Parramatta - Rosehill (30.4) in the Parramatta region.

Outside of Greater Sydney, the SA2s with the highest median ages were located on or near the coast. These included Tea Gardens - Hawks Nest (60.6 years) near Port Stephens, Tuncurry (59.6) on the Mid North Coast, and Sussex Inlet - Berrara (57.2) and Narooma - Bermagui (56.8) on the south coast. The areas with the lowest median ages in the rest of NSW were in or near major regional centres, particularly those containing higher education campuses. Wagga Wagga - North (26.3 years) and Tamworth - West (28.1) had the lowest median ages, followed by Shortland - Jesmond (28.2) in Newcastle.


CHILDREN (UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE)

At June 2014, there were 1.4 million children under 15 years of age in NSW, an increase of 59,100 (4.4%) since June 2009.

Almost two thirds of children in NSW lived in Greater Sydney. Between 2009 and 2014, the number of children in Greater Sydney increased by 56,600 (6.7%) to reach 906,100. In comparison, the number of children in the rest of NSW increased by 2,500 (0.5%).

Within Greater Sydney, the highest proportions of children were in the SA2s of Parklea - Kellyville Ridge (28%) and Rouse Hill - Beaumont Hills (26%) in the north-west residential growth corridor, Lethbridge Park - Tregear and Bidwill - Hebersham - Emerton (both 26%) in the Mount Druitt region, Mount Annan - Currans Hill (26%) in Sydney's outer south-west, and Warnervale - Wadalba (25%) on the Central Coast.

Of those SA2s in the rest of the state, Tamworth - West had the highest proportion of children (28%). Other SA2s with high proportions included Bourke - Brewarrina (26%), Dubbo - West (25%) and Narromine (24%) in the state's Far West and Orana region, and Orange - North (25%) in the Central West.

WORKING AGE POPULATION (AGED 15-64 YEARS)

At June 2014 there were 4.9 million people aged 15 to 64 years in NSW. Between 2009 and 2014, the working age population increased by 226,800 people or 4.8%.

Greater Sydney had 3.3 million working age residents in 2014. In the five years to 2014, the population aged 15 to 64 years in Greater Sydney increased by 6.2% compared with an increase of 2.2% in the rest of NSW.

The SA2s with the highest proportions of working age people in Greater Sydney were generally inner-city areas. These included Sydney - Haymarket - The Rocks (88%), Darlinghurst and Surry Hills (both 87%), Pyrmont - Ultimo (86%) and Newtown - Camperdown - Darlington (85%).

In the rest of the state, the highest proportions of people aged 15 to 64 years were in large regional centres, including the SA2s of Newcastle - Cooks Hill (76%) and nearby Wickham - Carrington - Tighes Hill (73%). Other areas with comparatively high proportions of working age people were Queanbeyan - East (73%) near Canberra, and coastal Wollongong and Byron Bay (both 72%).


PEOPLE AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER

At June 2014, 15% of NSW residents (1.2 million people) were aged 65 years and over. Of these, 159,300 people were aged 85 years and over. Between 2009 and 2014 the number of people in NSW aged 65 years and over grew by 18%, reflecting the continuing ageing of the NSW population.

While almost two thirds (64%) of the total NSW population lived in Greater Sydney, only 56% of those aged 65 years and over resided there in 2014. This reflects the preference of people to retire to coastal and rural areas.

Within Greater Sydney, seven of the ten SA2s with the highest proportions of people aged 65 years and over were on the Central Coast. These included Lake Munmorah - Mannering Park, Erina - Green Point, Toukley - Norah Head, Woy Woy - Blackwall and Kincumber - Picketts Valley, which all had more than one quarter of their population aged 65 years and over. Sylvania - Taren Point (25%) in the Sutherland Shire, and Wentworth Falls and Blackheath - Megalong Valley (both 24%) in the Blue Mountains were the only SA2s in the top ten not located on the Central Coast.

In the rest of NSW, nine of the ten SA2s with the highest proportions of people aged 65 years and over were located on the coast. The highest proportions were in Tea Gardens - Hawks Nest (41%) near Port Stephens, Tuncurry (41%) and Forster (34%) on the Mid North Coast, and Sussex Inlet - Berrara (38%) and Narooma - Bermagui (33%) on the south coast. The only SA2 in the top ten not located on the coast was Bowral (31%) in the state's Southern Highlands.

SEX RATIO

At June 2014, there were 98.6 males for every 100 females in NSW. The sex ratio was slightly lower in Greater Sydney (98.3) than in the rest of NSW (99.0).

Males outnumbered females in a number of areas close to Sydney's central business district in 2014. The SA2 of Surry Hills had the highest sex ratio in Greater Sydney (139.1 males per 100 females) followed by nearby Darlinghurst (137.9). High sex ratios were also apparent in inner-city Redfern - Chippendale (123.2) and Potts Point - Woolloomooloo (121.5). Other areas with comparatively high sex ratios included Homebush Bay - Silverwater (120.2) in the Parramatta region, and Yarramundi - Londonderry (116.4) in the Richmond - Windsor area, both of which contain male prisons. The lowest sex ratios in Greater Sydney were in Kincumber - Picketts Valley (86.2) on the Central Coast, Woollahra (87.3) to the east of Sydney's central business district and Cremorne - Cammeray (87.4) to the north.

A number of rural and remote areas outside of Greater Sydney had high sex ratios in 2014. The SA2 with the highest sex ratio in the rest of NSW was Junee (which contains the Junee Correctional Centre), with 134.6 males per 100 females. This was followed by Wentworth - Balranald Region (123.7) in the Lower Murray region and Jindabyne - Berridale (121.5) in the Snowy Mountains region. Low sex ratios were more common in larger regional centres and along the NSW north coast. These included Mittagong (86.4) in the Southern Highlands, and Ballina and Port Macquarie - West (both 88.5) on the northern NSW coast.