Perth was one of the fastest growing capital cities in Australia last year, with its population reaching 2.1 million, but the rest of the state lagged well behind.
Perth was one of the fastest growing capital cities in Australia last year, with its population reaching 2.1 million, but the rest of the state lagged well behind.
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show Perth’s population increased by 37,600 people, or 1.8 per cent, in the year to June 2020, to 2,125,114.
The only capital city with a higher growth rate was Brisbane, at 1.9 per cent.
In contrast to the strong growth in metropolitan Perth, the number of people in the rest of Western Australia increased by just 2,700, or 0.5 per cent, to 538,447.
The differential between metro and regional growth was wider in WA than for any other state.
In NSW, for instance, Sydney’s population grew by 1.1 per cent while the rest of the state grew by 0.8 per cent.
Nationally, the number of people living in the capital cities increased by 1.4 per cent while the number in regional Australia grew by 1.1 per cent.
Queensland had the fastest non-metro growth, up 1.4 per cent.
South Australia was the only state where regional growth (0.4 per cent) was weaker than for WA.
To put that in context, Adelaide expanded by a modest 1.2 per cent.
The differential last year between Perth and regional WA extended a long-term trend.
Over the past 20 years, the population of metropolitan Perth has grown by 46.0 per cent while the population of regional WA has grown by just 19.4 per cent.
The population of reginal WA actually peaked in June 2014, at 543,685.
It fell in absolute terms over the next four years to a low of 535,613 before growing modestly since then.
The ABS data showed that the areas in Perth with the fastest population growth were widely dispersed.
Alkimos - Eglinton in Perth's north-west grew by 10 per cent, Hazelmere - Guildford expanded by 7.4 per cent and North Coogee was up 7.1 per cent.
The areas with the largest growth by number were Ellenbrook (up by 2,400 people), Perth City (up 2,200) and Baldivis (up 1,900).
Ellenbrook had the largest natural increase (690 people) and the largest net internal migration gain (1,300 people).
Perth City had the largest net overseas migration gain (1,400 people).
Today’s data on regional growth comes two weeks after the ABS released its quarterly population estimates by state.
That data showed WA’s population grew by 1.24 per cent for the year to September 2020.
The only state with higher growth was Queensland, up 1.33 per cent.
The quarterly data showed that Australia’s population decreased by 4,200 people or 0.02 per cent to 25,693,059 as at September 30 – the first quarterly drop in population in over a century.
This reflected falling population numbers in NSW and Victoria.
Like other states, WA bucked the national trend, with growth of 0.13 per cent in the quarter to 2,667,130.
