
Customer Success Manager
With the release of the latest population figures from the ABS this week, Glenn gives us the highlights, including a map showing which local government areas are most affected by population changes and a summary of the fastest growing areas, as well as places in population decline.
Sydney is just hanging on as Australia’s largest city, while Camden Council takes the crown as the fastest growing LGA in Australia. Darwin and regional Western Australia continue to decline in population, while Melbourne booms in the city and on the urban fringe.
These are a few of the headline findings from the release of Regional Population Growth, 2017-18, the ABS’s annual update of population numbers for areas smaller than states.
Open our directory of community profiles to find this data for your area
You will be able to see these figures in your local community profiles soon, our Community and Economic profiles soon after release, and these numbers are also subject to revision after the next Census. But for now, they give us the best handle on what’s happening at a local level in terms of population.
The following map shows how population changes are affecting Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the different regions of Australia.
Fastest growth LGAs in Australia | 2018 pop | Growth 2017-18 | Growth % | Largest growth LGAs in Australia | 2018 pop | Growth 2017-18 | Growth % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Camden (NSW) | 94,159 | 7,013 | 8.0% | Brisbane (Qld) | 1,231,605 | 22,942 | 1.9% |
Melbourne (Vic) | 169,961 | 10,820 | 6.8% | Gold Coast (Qld) | 606,774 | 15,633 | 2.6% |
Wyndham (Vic) | 255,322 | 14,251 | 5.9% | Wyndham (Vic) | 255,322 | 14,251 | 5.9% |
Melton (Vic) | 156,713 | 8,095 | 5.4% | Casey (Vic) | 340,419 | 13,648 | 4.2% |
Serpentine-Jarrahdale (WA) | 30,933 | 1,578 | 5.4% | Melbourne (Vic) | 169,961 | 10,820 | 6.8% |
Maralinga Tjarutja (SA) | 64 | 3 | 4.9% | Moreton Bay (Qld) | 459,585 | 10,372 | 2.3% |
Cardinia (Vic) | 107,120 | 4,717 | 4.6% | Hume (Vic) | 224,394 | 9,156 | 4.3% |
Hume (Vic) | 224,394 | 9,156 | 4.3% | Unincorporated (ACT) | 420,960 | 8,935 | 2.2% |
Casey (Vic) | 340,419 | 13,648 | 4.2% | Sunshine Coast (Qld) | 319,922 | 8,780 | 2.8% |
Kwinana (WA) | 43,511 | 1,662 | 4.0% | Blacktown (NSW) | 366,534 | 8,695 | 2.4% |
The list of declining LGAs is dominated by outback Western Australia and, to a lesser extent, Queensland and South Australia. The wheatfields LGA, The Shire of Cue, tops the list in percentage terms, falling by 16%. In raw numbers, however, the City of Darwin had the biggest decline in the nation, down by 1,337 people.
Fastest declining LGAs in Australia | 2018 pop | Growth 2017-18 | Growth % | Largest declining LGAs in Australia | 2018 pop | Growth 2017-18 | Growth % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cue (WA) | 148 | -29 | -16.4% | Darwin (NT) | 84,613 | -1,337 | -1.6% |
Mount Magnet (WA) | 464 | -30 | -6.1% | Kalgoorlie – Boulder (WA) | 29,998 | -572 | -1.9% |
Ravensthorpe (WA) | 1598 | -81 | -4.8% | Greater Geraldton (WA) | 38,738 | -354 | -0.9% |
Meekatharra (WA) | 1008 | -50 | -4.7% | Bunbury (WA) | 31,776 | -326 | -1.0% |
Sandstone (WA) | 81 | -4 | -4.7% | Mount Isa (Qld) | 18,878 | -309 | -1.6% |
Orroroo – Carrieton (SA) | 854 | -42 | -4.7% | Kalamunda (WA) | 58,946 | -258 | -0.4% |
Morawa (WA) | 698 | -33 | -4.5% | Bayswater (WA) | 68,232 | -257 | -0.4% |
Northampton (WA) | 3077 | -128 | -4.0% | Joondalup (WA) | 160,031 | -253 | -0.2% |
Paroo (Qld) | 1586 | -63 | -3.8% | Isaac (Qld) | 20,934 | -248 | -1.2% |
Bulloo (Qld) | 330 | -13 | -3.8% | Whyalla (SA) | 21,766 | -238 | -1.1% |
As with all data from the ABS, there is a delay between the date of collection and the date of release, as the ABS obviously have to collate and prepare these data for output. All the figures in this report relate to the population as at June 30th, 2018.
We are in the process of updating all our client sites with the latest year’s data. Register for access to our full directory of community profiles here, and don’t forget, it is subject to review down the track, particularly with the next Census in 2021.
*Regarding the increase of 3 people (4.9% growth) in the community of Maralinga Tjarutja…
While we’d typically caution you to take such small numbers with a grain of salt, when we looked at the component of population change in this instance we saw the increase had been attributed to ‘natural increase’. In other words, this increase probably correlates with three additions to the births registry from the Maralinga Tjarutja community.
Stay tuned for a follow-up blog Glenn is writing about how the ABS calculates these changes to the population between Censuses.
Our specialists have deep expertise in demographics and spatial analysis, urban economics, housing research, social research and population forecasting
Head of Sales & Retention (Gov.)
Sales & Account Management (Industry)
Product Marketing Manager (Industry)
Demographic Consultant
Sales & Account Management (WA)
Customer Success Manager
Head of Product (Government)
Sales & Account Management (VIC/SA/TAS)
Views Delivery
Forecaster
Customer Success Manager
Customer Success Manager