Demographics of Canberra

Summary

Canberra is Australia's capital and its largest inland city. At the 2016 census, it had 395,790 residents.[1] This amounted to only 1.7% of Australia's population. The population density for Canberra is 443.5 people per sq kilometre.

At the 2016 census, 32% of Canberra's population were born overseas, a large majority which come from Asia and Europe.

The estimated population for Canberra as of 2016 was 395,790, constituting 194,879 males and 200,914 females.[1] The 2016 unemployment rate was around 4.7%.[1]

Canberra and ACT population density by mesh blocks (MB), according to the 2016 census

History edit

The first few decades after the establishment of Canberra growth was relatively slow due to low funds after World War I. The population was nearly 2000 at the time. Until the end of World War II development was completely put on hold due to the Great Depression.

Office development accelerated rapidly in the 1960s in Civic. From 1960 - 1971, the population tripled from 50,000 inhabitants to 146,000 and climbing to 203,000 in 1976. The Australian economy went into recession in 1975, and a year later the construction industries in Canberra collapsed.

In modern times, the growth completely slowed in 1996 - 2001. However, the city experiences over 1 percent growth annually.[2] The population in 2016 was around 395,790.[1]

Population of the ACT
YearPop.±%
1911 1,777—    
1921 2,583+45.4%
1933 8,947+246.4%
1947 16,905+88.9%
1954 30,315+79.3%
1961 58,828+94.1%
1966 96,032+63.2%
1971 151,169+57.4%
1976 207,740+37.4%
1981 227,581+9.6%
1986 258,910+13.8%
1991 289,320+11.7%
1996 308,251+6.5%
2001 307,053−0.4%
2006 322,036+4.9%
2011 357,222+10.9%
2016 397,397+11.2%
2021 453,890+14.2%
Source: Censuses[3][4][5][6][7]

Populations by district edit

Most of Canberra's growth since 1991 has taken place in Gungahlin.

Population of Canberra districts 1991[8] 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021
North Canberra 40,249 38,818 38,585 43,757 48,030[9] 53,002[10] 61,188[11]
South Canberra 22,371 22,730 23,324 24,581 24,154[12] 27,007[13] 31,592[14]
Belconnen 89,519 85,659 81,701 87,246 92,444[15] 96,049[16] 106,061[17]
Woden Valley 33,921 33,043 32,494 31,992 32,958[18] 34,760[19] 39,279[20]
Weston Creek 27,268 24,879 23,662 22,886 22,746[21] 22,988[22] 24,630[23]
Tuggeranong 74,412 90,104 90,875 89,666 86,900[24] 85,154[25] 89,461[26]
Gungahlin 455 12,684 24,398 32,550 47,303 [27] 71,142[28] 87,682[29]
Molonglo 27[30] 4,578[31] 11,435[32]
Total Canberra 288,195 307,917 307,053 322,036 355,596[33] 395,790[1] 453,890

Ancestry and immigration edit

Country of Birth (2016)[34]
Birthplace[N 1] Population
Australia 269,682
England 12,739
Mainland China 11,334
India 10,405
New Zealand 4,722
Philippines 3,789
Vietnam 3,340
United States 2,775
Sri Lanka 2,774
Malaysia 2,431
South Korea 2,283

At the 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:[N 2][35]

The 2016 census showed that 32% of Canberra's inhabitants were born overseas.[37] Of inhabitants born outside of Australia, the most prevalent countries of birth were England, China, India, New Zealand and the Philippines.[38]

1.6% of the population, or 6,476 people, identified as Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders) in 2016.[N 5][39]

Language edit

At the 2016 census, 72.7% of people spoke only English at home. The other languages most commonly spoken at home were Mandarin (3.1%), Vietnamese (1.1%), Cantonese (1%), Hindi (0.9%) and Spanish (0.8%).[40]

Religion edit

At the 2011 census, the most common responses for religion were no religion (36.2%) Catholic (22.3%), Anglican (10.7%), not stated (9.1%) and Hinduism (2.6%).[1]

Demographic Statistics edit

The following statistics are from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.[41][42]

 
Canberra's population

Median age edit

34 years of age[1]

Age structure edit

0-14 years: 18.7% (74,213)
15–64 years: 68.7% (271,762)
65 years and over: 12.7% (49,828)[1]

Population growth rate edit

1.6%

Birth rate edit

13.5 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

Death rate edit

4.5 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

Life expectancy edit

As of 2013-2015, the Australian Capital Territory has the highest life expectancy in Australia. The life expectancy at birth for males is 81.2 years and 85.3 years for females.[43]

Sex ratios edit

There were 99.0 males for every 100 females in Canberra as of 2010.
Civic had the highest sex ratio (137.2 males for every 100 females.)
Deakin had the lowest sex ratio (80.6 males for every 100 females.)

Total fertility rate edit

1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.)[44]

Unemployment rate edit

4.5%

Notes edit

  1. ^ In accordance with the Australian Bureau of Statistics source, England, Scotland, Mainland China and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau are listed separately
  2. ^ As a percentage of 373,561 persons who nominated their ancestry at the 2016 census.
  3. ^ The Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry are part of the Anglo-Celtic group.[36]
  4. ^ Of any ancestry. Includes those identifying as Aboriginal Australians or Torres Strait Islanders. Indigenous identification is separate to the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.
  5. ^ Of any ancestry. Includes those identifying as Aboriginal Australians or Torres Strait Islanders. Indigenous identification is separate to the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Canberra - Queanbeyan (Canberra Part)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 October 2017.  
  2. ^ "History of Canberra". Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  3. ^ "3105.0.65.001 - Australian Historical Population Statistics, 2006". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 23 May 2006. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Australian Capital Territory". 2006 Census QuickStats. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Australian Capital Territory". 2011 Census QuickStats. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Australian Capital Territory". 2016 Census QuickStats. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 23 October 2017. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  7. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Australian Capital Territory". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2022.  
  8. ^ McLennan, W. (May 1998). 1996 Census of Population and Housing (PDF). Department of the Environment. pp. 98–100. ISBN 0-642-25690-X. Retrieved 7 April 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "North Canberra (Statistical Subdivision)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 January 2015.  
  10. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "North Canberra (Statistical Subdivision)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 October 2017.  
  11. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "North Canberra". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2022.  
  12. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "South Canberra (Statistical Subdivision)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 January 2015.  
  13. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "South Canberra (Statistical Subdivision)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 October 2017.  
  14. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "South Canberra". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2022.  
  15. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Belconnen (SA3)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 January 2015.  
  16. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Belconnen (Statistical Subdivision)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 October 2017.  
  17. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Belconnen". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2022.  
  18. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Woden (SA3)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 January 2015.  
  19. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Woden Valley (Statistical Subdivision)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 October 2017.  
  20. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Woden Valley". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2022.  
  21. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Weston Creek (SA3)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 January 2015.  
  22. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Weston Creek (Statistical Subdivision)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 October 2017.  
  23. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Weston Creek". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2022.  
  24. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Tuggeranong (SA3)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 January 2015.  
  25. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Tuggeranong (Statistical Subdivision)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 October 2017.  
  26. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Tuggeranong". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2022.  
  27. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Gungahlin (SA3)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 January 2015.  
  28. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Gungahlin (Statistical Subdivision)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 October 2017.  
  29. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Gungahlin". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2022.  
  30. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Molonglo (SA2)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2022.  
  31. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Molonglo". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2022.  
  32. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Molonglo". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2022.  
  33. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Canberra - Queanbeyan (Canberra Part)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 January 2015.  
  34. ^ "2016 Australian Capital Territory, Census Community Profiles | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  35. ^ "2016 Australian Capital Territory, Census Community Profiles | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  36. ^ Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of (January 1995). "Feature Article - Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Australia (Feature Article)". www.abs.gov.au.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ "2016 Australian Capital Territory, Census Community Profiles | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  38. ^ "2016 Australian Capital Territory, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  39. ^ "2016 Australian Capital Territory, Census Community Profiles | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  40. ^ "2016 Australian Capital Territory, Census Community Profiles | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  41. ^ Population in 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  42. ^ Canberra at the 2011 census. Archived 11 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  43. ^ "3302.0.55.001 - Life Tables, States, Territories and Australia, 2013-2015". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2016. Archived from the original on 13 May 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  44. ^ Fertility rate of Australia in 2001 Australian Bureau of Statistics. 31 October 2001. Retrieved 31 October 2001.