Darwin had the youngest population of Australian state and territory capital cities in 2023, while Adelaide had the oldest, according to new population data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.
The statistics show that cities tend to be younger hubs than the regions, while mining, military bases, universities and prisons heavily influence the demographic picture in some areas.
The youngest median age, 20.8 years, was recorded in Acton, home of the Australian National University, closely followed by Duntroon, where the Royal Military College pulled the age median to 21.8 years – and boosted the ratio of men to women to more than 2:1.
While Darwin had the youngest capital city population with a median age of 34.6, it was also the only capital city where men outnumbered women, with 104.7 men for every 100 women.
“Across the country we’ve got 99 males for every 100 females,” said Andrew Howe, a demographer at the ABS.
“What’s likely the case in Darwin is it’s reflecting that over time the people that move to Darwin are more males, reflecting job opportunities,” he said
Adelaide had the oldest median age at 39.2 years, followed by Hobart at 38.9 years. Hobart and Adelaide also had the lowest male-to-female ratios of all capitals, with Hobart home to 95.6 males per 100 females and Adelaide home to 96 males per 100 females.
Large numbers of retirees bumped up the age of some coastal town populations, with the oldest median ages recorded in Tea Gardens in New South Wales, Bribie Island in Queensland and Point Lonsdale in Victoria.
Western Australia’s East Pilbara region had 274.2 men for every 100 women – a direct effect of its massive mining industry.
“Mining areas and agricultural areas tend to be more male-dominated areas,” said Howe.
But while the male-skewed population of Wacol in Brisbane (278.1 men for every 100 women) and Chidlow in Perth could be explained by their local prisons, some suburbs’ population patterns were down to more subtle forces.
Woollahra in Sydney’s east had the lowest male-to-female ratio, with 80.9 males for every 100 females, reflecting the local population’s older age profiles and the longer life expectancy of women.
“A lot of areas … where females outnumber males the most, do tend to be areas where people live for longest, higher socioeconomic areas like Woollahra in the east of Sydney, suburbs around Double Bay [on Sydney Harbour],” said Howe.
Robina West in Queensland and Mornington West also had particularly low numbers of men to women.
Sydney and Melbourne had younger populations than throughout NSW and Victoria, drawn by the cities’ work and educational opportunities. In Sydney, the median age was 36.8 years old while in Melbourne the median age was 36.6 years old.
“In terms of the inner cities, this has been really fascinating in the last 20 or 30 years, the surge of inner-city living, and that’s more attractive to younger adults,” said Howe.
He also pointed to the high number of overseas students who move to capital cities and often live in the inner city, near the larger universities.
“We see that reflected in the age profiles of the areas.”
