AUSTRALIAN FACTS AND FIGURES

Population

The 2010 population of Australia is estimated at approximately 22,284,182 people. Most of the population (83% in 1996) live within 50 km of the coast and concentrated mainly in the large coastal cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

In 2010 there is an overall population increase every 1 minutes and 1 seconds.
This estimated growth  comes from . . .

• every 1 minute and 46 seconds - one person is born
• every 3 minutes and 42 seconds - one person dies
• every 1 minutes and 46 seconds - a net gain of one international migrant

See also Comparing Populations of Countries
(includes Australian population totals over the last 50 years)

Population By Age (2006)

Age Groups	% of Total	Ratio	Females	Males
0 - 14 years	19.6%	1.05 males / females	1,923,828	2,026,975
15 - 64 years	67.9%	1.03 males / females	7,121,613	7,318,743
65 + years	13.5%	0.84 males / females	1,565,153	1,306,329

Top 40 cities by population (2006)

The capital cities are in bold.

1	Sydney	NSW	4,293,105		21	Burnie-Devonport	TAS	79,954
2	Melbourne	VIC	3,684,461		22	Mandurah	WA	77,619
3	Brisbane	QLD	1,820,375		23	Latrobe Valley	VIC	75,553
4	Perth	WA	1,507,949		24	Mackay	QLD	73,091
5	Adelaide	SA	1,138,833		25	Rockhampton	QLD	70,128
6	Gold Coast-Tweed	QLD / NSW	554,628		26	Bundaberg	QLD	62,457
7	Newcastle	NSW	512,131		27	Bunbury	WA	59,033
8	Canberra	ACT	328,441		28	Wagga Wagga	NSW	54,191
9	Wollongong	NSW	276,155		29	Coffs Harbour	NSW	50,368
10	Sunshine Coast	QLD	220,199		30	Hervey Bay	QLD	50,293
11	Hobart	TAS	205,510		31	Mildura	VIC	48,836
12	Geelong	VIC	167,781		32	Shepparton	VIC	48,063
13	Townsville	QLD	153,631		33	Tamworth	NSW	43,774
14	Cairns	QLD	127,856		34	Gladstone	QLD	43,507
15	Toowoomba	QLD	121,612		35	Port Macquarie	NSW	41,332
16	Darwin	NT	113,955		36	Orange	NSW	37,982
17	Launceston	TAS	103,835		37	Dubbo	NSW	35,972
18	Albury-Wodonga	NSW / VIC	101,273		38	Nowra-Bomaderry	NSW	33,364
19	Ballarat	VIC	90,303		39	Bathurst	NSW	32,398
20	Bendigo	VIC	85,978		40	Lismore	NSW	31,626

Number of people living in each state

	1976	1981	1986	1991	1996	2004	pop in capital
NSW	4,960,800	5,234,900	5,531,500	5,898,700	6,204,700	6,760,000	63.0%
VIC	3,811,400	3,946,900	4,160,900	4,420,400	4,560,200	5,002,300	71.0%
QLD	2,091,700	2,245,200	2,624,600	2,961,000	3,338,700	3,919,300	46.0%
SA	1,274,600	1,318,800	1,382,600	1,446,600	1,474,300	1,537,900	73.5%
WA	1,178,900	1,300,100	1,459,00	1,636,100	1,765,300	1,998,400	73.4%
TAS	412,400	427,200	446,500	466,800	474,400	484,000	41.0%
ACT	207,400	227,600	258,900	289,300	308,300	324,300	99.6%
NT	98,300	122,600	154,400	165,500	181,800	200,800	54.0%

Origin of immigrants to Australia

Although Australia had its beginnings as a British penal colony, it was gradually phased out by 1868.
The late 19th century saw hundreds of thousands of immigrants arrive from a variety of countries to make Australia their home.

Australia is a culturally diverse country. At the 1996 Census:

• 3.9 million people had been born overseas
• 3.8 million had one or both parents born overseas
• 2.6 million people spoke a language other than English at home
• 92 religious denominations
• 282 major languages (includes 170 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander)

	1963 - 67	1973 - 77	1983 - 87	1993 - 97
United Kingdom & Ireland	339,500	156,200	88,900	53,200
New Zealand	...	20,200	53,000	53,600
Viet Nam	...	...	40,100	21,000
Philippines	...	...	22,300	17,200
China	...	...	...	28,900
Hong Kong	...	...	...	19,500
South Africa	...	...	14,100	...
Poland	...	...	8,100	...
Yugoslavia	33,600	18,100	...	...
Greece	67,400	11,200	...	...
Lebanon	...	21,900	...	...
USA	...	10,900	...	...
Italy	61,300	...	...	...
Malta	19,400	...	...	...
Germany	17,700	...	...	...

Note: This information is for entertainment purposes. We assume no liability resulting from any errors or omissions. Translation . . . we've done our best to bring you accurate information. For official facts and figures, please visit any of the many Australian government websites available such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics.