Canberra is Australia's capital and its largest inland city. At the , it had 452,670 residents. This amounted to 1.8% of Australia's population.

At the 2021 census, 32.5% of Canberra's population were born overseas, a large majority of which were born in Asia and Europe. The top three overseas countries of birth were India, England and China.

The estimated population for Canberra as of 2021 was 452,670, constituting 223,365 males and 229,301 females. The 2021 unemployment rate was around 3.8%.

History

The first few decades after the establishment of Canberra growth was relatively slow due to low funds after World War I. The population was nearly 2000 at the time. Until the end of World War II development was completely put on hold due to the Great Depression.

Office development accelerated rapidly in the 1960s in Civic. From 1960–1971, the population tripled from 50,000 inhabitants to 146,000 and climbing to 203,000 in 1976. The Australian economy went into recession in 1975, and a year later the construction industries in Canberra collapsed.

In modern times, growth slowed between 1996 and 2001. But the city now experiences annual growth of over 1 per cent.

Populations by district

Most of Canberra's growth since 1991 has taken place in Gungahlin.

Population of Canberra districts 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021 North Canberra 40,249 38,818 38,585 43,757 48,03053,00261,188 South Canberra 22,371 22,730 23,324 24,581 24,15427,00731,592 Belconnen 89,519 85,659 81,701 87,246 92,44496,049106,061 Woden Valley 33,921 33,043 32,494 31,992 32,95834,76039,279 Weston Creek 27,268 24,879 23,662 22,886 22,74622,98824,630 Tuggeranong 74,412 90,104 90,875 89,666 86,90085,15489,461 Gungahlin 455 12,684 24,398 32,550 47,30371,14287,682 Molonglo 274,57811,435 Total Canberra 288,195 307,917 307,053 322,036 355,596 395,790452,670

Ancestry and immigration + Country of Birth (2016) Birthplace Population Australia 269,682 England 12,739 Mainland China 11,334 India 10,405 New Zealand 4,722 Philippines 3,789 Vietnam 3,340 United States 2,775 Sri Lanka 2,774 Malaysia 2,431 South Korea 2,283

At the 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:

The 2016 census showed that 32% of Canberra's inhabitants were born overseas. Of inhabitants born outside of Australia, the most prevalent countries of birth were England, China, India, New Zealand and the Philippines.

1.6% of the population, or 6,476 people, identified as Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders) in 2016.

Language At the 2016 census, 72.7% of people spoke only English at home. The other languages most commonly spoken at home were Mandarin (3.1%), Vietnamese (1.1%), Cantonese (1%), Hindi (0.9%) and Spanish (0.8%).

Religion

At the 2021 census, the most common responses for religion were no religion (43.5%), Catholic (19.3%), Anglican (8.2%), not stated (5.2%) and Hinduism (4.5%).

Demographic Statistics

Median age 35 years of age

Age structure 0–14 years: 18.3% (82,674) 15–64 years: 68.0% (307,992) 65 years and over: 13.8% (62,003)

Population growth rate 2.1%

Birth rate 14.16 births/1,000 population

Death rate 4.88 deaths/1,000 population

Life expectancy As of 2021–2023, the Australian Capital Territory has the highest life expectancy in Australia. The life expectancy at birth for males is 81.7 years and 85.7 years for females.

Total fertility rate 1.31

Unemployment rate 3.8%

Notes

References