AFTER FIVE YEARS, THE WAIT IS OVER. NO, IT IS NOT TIME FOR THE ESTONIAN SONG FESTIVAL, LAULUPIDU, THIS IS HELD AGAIN IN 2014, BUT THE MUCH ANTICIPATED CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING.
The Census is the largest and one of the most important statistical collections undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and is always met with a level of interest, excitement and, in some cases, disappointment.
If you’re struggling to find a single lady in Western Australia, there may be reason for your concern. The ABS population data show that Western Australia is the only state in Australia with more males than females.
Australia, like many other countries, traditionally has a larger female than male population due to longer life expectancies for females. However, ABS estimates there are over 16,000 more males than females in Western Australia.
It gets worse after breaking down the age groups.
There are 17,800 more males than females between 20 and 34 years of age. That is 6.5 per cent of the population of guys between 20 and 34! Or, just to add a bit more pain, that’s 7.8 per cent of males in their 20s in Western Australia without a matching female in their 20s.
Of course the Census is also an extremely valuable tool for the urban development industry, allowing much more accurate analysis of trends to be undertaken.
UDIA’s Intelligence Unit has been hard at work since the first of the data was released on the 21st June and we are pleased to release Perth Growth Region Profiles.
This publication is your short cut to the Census data and the accompanying spreadsheet allows you to customise the analysis for your needs.
Members can download this publication from the members section of the UDIA website.
Census at a glance
- Rentals outpace owner occupier dwelling growth in outer Perth
Increases in the number of occupied private dwellings being rented exceeded growth in owner-occupied dwellings in a number of the fast growing local government areas, according to the Census. The number of occupied private dwellings being rented in the City of Wanneroo, for example, increased by 53.5 per cent between 2006 and 2011, bringing the number of rentals to more than one in five dwellings. In the City of Swan, the number of properties rented increased 27.3 per cent between 2006 and 2011. This compares to the 15.2 per cent increase in the number of owner occupied properties over the same period.
- 7 in 10 dwellings in the state are three and four bedroom detached houses
Detached homes in Western Australia make up four out of five of the state’s occupied private dwelling stock. Three and four bedroom detached homes represent 32.7 and 36.5 per cent of all dwellings in the state, respectively.
Semi-detached homes (i.e. townhouses) typically have two or three bedrooms but make up only 10 per cent of all dwellings.
- Two in five residents in Perth growth regions born outside Australia
High levels of immigration have resulted in the proportion of the state’s population born in Australia falling from 71 to 67 per cent.
In the growth regions, however, the proportion is as low as three in five residents Australian-born. In the City of Wanneroo and City of Gosnells, Australian-born residents make up 58 and 60 per cent of the population, respectively.