The results of Australia’s 2016 census have been released
Release Date: 27 June 2017
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The results of the latest national Census today reveal we’re a fast changing, ever-expanding, culturally diverse nation.
It has been less than 10 months since the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) took the pulse of the nation to find out who we are, how we live, what we do, and where we’re headed.
The Census has helped update Australia’s estimated resident population, which has grown to 24.4 million people by December 31, 2016.
Australia’s population grew by 1.6% during the year ended 31 December 2016.
The preliminary estimated resident population (ERP) of Australia at 31 December 2016 was 24,385,600 people. This is an increase of 372,800 people since 31 December 2015, and 78,400 people since 30 September 2016.
The preliminary estimate of natural increase for the year ended 31 December 2016 (152,600 people) was 6.5%, or 9,300 people higher than the natural increase recorded for the year ended 31 December 2015 (143,300 people).
The preliminary estimate of net overseas migration (NOM) for the year ended 31 December 2016 (209,000 people) was 16.5%, or 29,700 people higher than the net overseas migration recorded for the year ended 31 December 2015 (179,300 people).
All states and territories recorded positive population growth in the year ended 31 December 2016.
Victoria recorded the highest growth rate of all states and territories at 2.4%.
The Northern Territory recorded the lowest growth rate at 0.3%.
1.3 million new migrants have come to call Australia home since 2011, hailing from some of the 180 countries of birth recorded in the Census, with China (191,000) and India (163,000) being the most common countries of birth of our new arrivals.
While the majority of migrants settle in Sydney and Melbourne, most Kiwis choose to call Queensland home, with more than one in three (35 per cent) of the 98,000 New Zealanders who have arrived in Australia since 2011 settling in the Sunshine State.
Of all Australian residents, just more than a quarter of people (26 per cent) said they were born overseas, with England remaining the most common country of birth other than Australia. However, with China, India, and the Philippines all in the top five, for the first time in our history, the majority of people born overseas are now from Asia, not Europe.
At the same time, we remain a predominantly English speaking country, with 72.7 per cent of people reporting they spoke only English at home. Tasmania had the highest rate of people speaking only English at home with 88 per cent, while the Northern Territory had the lowest rate at 58 per cent.
The proportion of the people who reported as having Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin has increased again in 2016, accounting for 2.8 per cent of the population. With 649,171 people indicating that they have Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin, the population size has increased by 18.4 per cent since 2011, and nearly doubled since 1996.
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The Census found that New South Wales remains our most populous state, with 7,480,228 people counted, ahead of Victoria in second (5,926,624 people) and Queensland in third (4,703,193 people).
Yet it’s the home of the nation’s capital – the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) – that experienced the largest population growth of any state or territory over the past five years, adding more than 40,000 new residents – an increase of 11 per cent.
Located approximately 45 kilometres from the Perth CBD in the woody hills of the Darling Scarp, Serpentine – Jarrahdale showed the fastest regional growth in the country, with a population increase of 51 per cent to 27,000 people – up from 18,000 people in 2011. Gungahlin, a thriving northern area in the ACT, continues to flourish and is now home to 71,000 people, up from 47,000 in 2011 – an increase of 50 per cent.
State and Territory
2016 Population
New South Wales 7,480,228
Victoria 5,926,624
Queensland 4,703,193
Western Australia 2,474,410
South Australia 1,676,653
Tasmania 509,965
Northern Territory 228,833
Australian Capital Territory 397,397
Other Territories 4,587
Metropolitan Cities
2016 Population
Melbourne is set to overtake Sydney as Australia’s most populous city
Greater Sydney 4,823,991
Greater Melbourne 4,485,211
Greater Brisbane 2,270,800
Greater Perth 1,943,858
Greater Adelaide 1,295,714
Australian Capital Territory 396,857
Greater Hobart 222,356
Greater Darwin 136,828
