Melbourne is officially Australia’s fastest growing capital city, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Melbourne’s population grew by 2.1 per cent in 2014-15, down slightly from 2.2 per cent last year, but still higher than the next-fastest growing capital, Darwin (1.9 per cent).
Perth, which has been one of the fastest-growing capital cities since the mid-2000s, grew by 1.6 per cent in 2014-15 (down from 1.9 per cent last year) and now sits equal fourth with Brisbane, behind Sydney (1.7 per cent).
“Although Perth’s growth slowed to its lowest rate since 2004-05, it was not the only city to experience weaker growth,” said ABS Director of Demography Beidar Cho.
“Of all the capitals, only Hobart (0.8 per cent), Canberra (1.4 per cent) and Darwin (1.9 per cent) grew faster in 2014-15 than in the previous year”.
Australia’s capital cities accounted for the vast majority (83 per cent) of the nation’s total population growth in 2014-15, with most growth occurring in outer suburban and inner city areas.
The fastest growing areas in each state and territory were Cobbitty – Leppington (New South Wales), Cranbourne East (Victoria), Pimpama (Queensland), Munno Para West – Angle Vale (South Australia), North Coogee (Western Australia), Rokeby (Tasmania), Palmerston – South (Northern Territory), and ACT – South West (Australian Capital Territory).
New South Wales – Sydney is well on target to becoming the first Australian capital city to reach 5 million people, growing by 83,300 in 2014-15 to hit 4.92 million.
Victoria – Melbourne had both the largest (91,600) and fastest (2.1 per cent) population increase of all Australian capital cities in 2014-15.
Queensland – Brisbane’s population may be increasing at its slowest rate for over a decade, but Queensland has some of the largest-growing regional areas in the nation.
South Australia – Adelaide’s outer suburbs may be experiencing the largest population increases, but some of the city’s fastest growth is occurring in its inner areas.
Western Australia – Perth’s growth has slowed to its lowest rate for a decade, increasing by 1.6 per cent in 2014-15 compared with 1.9 per cent in 2013-14.
Tasmania – Although growing at the slowest rate of all capital cities (0.8 per cent in 2014-15), Hobart is the only Australian capital to record an increasing rate of population growth in each of the last three years.
Northern Territory – Darwin remains one of the fastest-growing capital cities in Australia, increasing by 1.9 per cent in 2014-15, second only to Melbourne (2.1 per cent).
Australian Capital Territory – The newly-developed suburbs of Canberra’s Molonglo Valley are the fastest-growing areas in Australia. The population of ACT – South West, which includes the new suburbs of Wright and Coombs, grew by 127 per cent in 2014-15.
