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VI. DEMOGRAPHY AND LINGUISTIC AFFILIATIONThe preliminary estimated resident population (ERP) of Australia on 31 March 2014 was 23,425,700 people. This reflects an increase of 388,400 people since 31 March 2013 and 111,600 people since 31 December 2012. ANNUAL POPULATION GROWTH RATE(a)(b), Australia The growth of Australia's population has two components: natural increase (the number of births minus the number of deaths) and net overseas migration (NOM). COMPONENTS OF ANNUAL POPULATION GROWTH(a)(b), Australia
ESTIMATED RESIDENT POPULATION - The preliminary estimate of natural increase recorded for the year ended 31 March 2014 (156,900 people) was 3.3%, or 5,300 people lower than the natural increase recorded for the year ended 31 March 2013 (162,200 people). - The preliminary estimate of net overseas migration (NOM) recorded for the year ended 31 March 2014 (231,500 people) was 2.8%, or 6,600 people lower than the net overseas migration recorded for the year ended 31 March 2013 (238,100 people). - All states and territories recorded positive population growth in the year ended 31 March 2014. - Western Australia continued to record the fastest growth rate of all states and territories at 2.5%. Tasmania recorded the slowest growth rate at 0.3%.
Australia’s ageing population. Australia’s population, like that of most developed countries, is ageing as a result of sustained low fertility and increasing life expectancy. This results in proportionally fewer children (under 15 years of age) in the population. The median age (the age at which half the population is older and half is younger) of the Australian population has increased by 4.8 years over the last two decades, from 32.1 years at 30 June 1990 to 36.9 years at 30 June 2010. Between 30 June 2009 and 2010 the median age remained relatively steady at 36.8 years. Over the next several decades, population ageing is projected to have significant implications for Australia, including health, labour force participation, housing and demand for skilled labour. The ageing of Australia’s population, already evident in the current age structure, is expected to continue. The median age of Australia’s population is projected to increase between 38.7 years and 40.7 years in 2026 and between 41.9 years and 45.2 years in 2056 . In June 2010, Tasmania had the oldest population of all the states and territories with a median age of 39.9 years. The second oldest was South Australia with a median age of 39.2 years, followed by New South Wales (37.2 years), Victoria (36.9 years), Western Australia and Queensland (36.2 years), the Australian Capital Territory (34.7 years) and the Northern Territory (31.3 years). Most of Australia’s population is concentrated in two widely separated coastal regions. By far the larger of these, in terms of area and population, lies in the south-east and east. The smaller of the two regions is in the south-west of the continent. In both coastal regions the population is concentrated in urban centres, particularly the state and territory capital cities.
Australia’s population density Population density varies greatly across Australia. Australia’s total population density in June 2008 was 2.8 people per square kilometre. Among the states and territories, the Australian Capital Territory had the highest population density at 147 people per square kilometre and the Northern Territory had the lowest population density at just 0.2 people per square kilometre. In June 2008, population density was highest in the capital cities of Australia’s states and territories. With the exception of Canberra, all these capital cities are located on the coast.
Population density in other coastal and surrounding areas was also relatively high, particularly in the southeast corner of the country. On the other hand, most of central and western Australia had a population density of less than one person/km2. Five of the top ten most densely-populated statistical local areas (SLAs) were located in Sydney, which is currently the most populous city in Australia. In June 2008, the Sydney statistical division had a population of 4.4 million people. Australia’s sex ratio In June 2010, there were 94,600 more females than males residing in Australia, with 11.12 million males and 11.21 million females. The sex ratio (the number of males per hundred females) was 99.2, up from 98.6 in 2005. The sex ratio of the states and territories in June 2010 varied from 97.3 in Tasmania, up to 107.7 in the Northern Territory. Only in the Northern Territory and Western Australia did males outnumber females, while in Queensland the ratio was almost even (99.9%). Australia’s Indigenous population Over recent decades, changing social attitudes, political developments, improved statistical coverage and a broader definition of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin have all contributed to the increased likelihood of people identifying as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australia was estimated to be 517,000 people in June 2006, or 2.5% of the total Australian population. In 2006, around 90% of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples identified as being of Aboriginal origin, 6% identified as being of Torres Strait Islander origin and 4% identified as being of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is relatively young, with a median age of 21 years compared to 37 years for the non-Indigenous population in 2006. In 2006, around one-third (32%) of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population lived in major cities of Australia, 43% in regional areas and 25% in remote areas. The majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples live in New South Wales (30% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population lived in this state), Queensland (28%) and Western Australia (14%). While 12% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples live in the Northern Territory, they do make up almost a third (30%) of the total Northern Territory population. In all of the other states and territory Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make up less than 4% of the total population.
Estimated and projected Indigenous population,Australia, Series B
Natural increase At the Australia level, any growth in the Indigenous population is entirely due to natural increase (that is, the excess of births over deaths), as net overseas migration is assumed to be zero. Although decreasing fertility rates are assumed, the number of births of Indigenous children is projected to increase over the projection period. This is due to the age structure of the Indigenous population, which has large numbers of people moving into peak child-bearing ages over the projection period, as well as due to the assumption of increasing paternity rates. As a result, the number of births of Indigenous children is projected to increase from 13,600 in 2007, to between 19,000 and 19,100 in 2021. In Series A, which assumes constant life expectancy at birth, the number of deaths of Indigenous people is projected to increase from 2,600 in 2007 to 4,200 in 2021. In comparison, in Series B, which incorporates an increasing life expectancy at birth assumption, the number of deaths is projected to increase to 3,100 in 2021, 1,100 (26%) fewer than in Series A. As the number of births is considerably larger than the number of deaths, natural increase remains consistently high, reaching between 14,900 and 16,100 people (Series A and B respectively) in 2021. The projection is based on the estimated resident population in June 2013 and assumes growth since then of: - one birth every 1 minute and 41 seconds, - one death every 3 minutes and 32 seconds , - a net gain of one international migration every 2 minutes and 10 seconds, leading to an overall total population increase of one person every 1 minute and 18 seconds. Projected Natural Increase of Indigenous Population, Australia - 2007-2021 As the number of births is considerably larger than the number of deaths, natural increase remains consistently high, reaching between 14,900 and 16,100 people (Series A and B respectively) in 2021. Birthplace. Australia’s population has increased each year since the end of World War II, due to a combination of high post-war fertility and high levels of migration. In 1901, 23% of Australia’s population was overseas-born. In 1947 the proportion of the population born overseas had declined to 10%. The creation of a national government immigration portfolio in 1945 accompanied a gradual increase in the proportion of overseas-born Australians and by 1992 this proportion had increased to 23%. In 2002 the number of overseas-born Australians had passed 4.5 million or at 23% of the total population and in 2007 this increased to 25%. The diversity of countries of birth has increased substantially over the years. Patterns of immigration have also changed. For the last few decades, Italy, Greece and Netherlands-born populations in Australia have been declining. The major migration flows from these countries occurred immediately after World War II and there has been relatively little migration from these countries more recently. Migration to Australia. Almost 6 million migrants, born in over 200 countries, live in Australia. People born in the United Kingdom continued to be the largest group of overseas-born residents, accounting for 1.2 million people. The next largest group was born in New Zealand with 544,000 people, followed by China (380,000 people), India (341,000) and Italy (216,000). Over the last decade, the proportion of those born in the UK declined from 5.9% of Australia’s population in 2000 to 5.3% in 2010. In contrast, the proportions increased for people born in New Zealand (from 1.9% to 2.4%), China (from 0.8% to 1.7%) and India (from 0.5% to 1.5%). The majority (76%) of overseas-born residents were of working age, 15–64 years in June 2010. Migrants born in Asia, America and Africa had proportionally larger young (0–14 years) and working age (15–64 years) populations compared to those from Europe. Linguistic affiliation. Australia has no official language, it is largely monolingual with English being the de facto national language. Australian English has a distinctive accent and vocabulary.The dominant language since colonization has been English, with little multi-lingualism among the majority population. Nevertheless, both the diverse Aboriginal groups and many immigrants continue to use languages other than English. According to the 2011 census, 76.8% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 1.6%, Italian 1.4%, Arabic 1.3%, Cantonese 1.2% and Greek 1.2%. A considerable proportion of first- and second-generation migrants are bilingual. At the time of European settlement, there were an estimated 250 languages spoken by the Indigenous people of Australia. These languages were made up collectively of a total of about 700 different dialects. Perhaps ninety of these languages are still spoken, with around twenty being spoken fluently by the indigenous children. The following data is derived from the 2014 Census: - About 61,000 people speak an Indigenous language. Of these, approximately 19% speak an Australian creole. - A significant number of people speak an Australian creole including Torres Strait Creole (5,369 speakers) and Kriol (6,781 speakers). 575 people indicated that they speak Aboriginal English. -Other Indigenous languages with large numbers of speakers are Arrernte cluster (5,362 speakers), Djambarrpuyngu (2,974), Pitantjatjara (3,486) and Walpiri (2,554). -The most common Indigenous languages differ between states and territories reflecting the origins of particular Aboriginal groups and their continuity with their traditional lands. - Over half (60%) of the Northern Territory's Indigenous population speak an Indigenous language, by far the greatest proportion of any state or territory. 13.5% of Indigenous people in Western Australia and 11.5% in South Australia speak an Indigenous language. - The Northern Territory has over half (56.1%) of Australia's Indigenous language speakers, with most of the remainder in Queensland (19.8%), Western Australia (15.6%) and South Australia (5.9%). The Aboriginal languages with the most speakers today are Arrernte, Kala Lagaw Ya, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri, and the Western Desert language.The decline in the use of the Aboriginal languages is due to the effects of colonization. Among some Aboriginal groups, especially in parts of the north, a number of distinctive creole dialects mix Aboriginal languages with English. Melbourne is the most multilingual city. Migrant groups want their languages to be maintained through government policies such as the Languages Other Than English (LOTE) program in secondary schools. The analysis of the language spoken at home by the population of the Australia shows that there is a larger proportion of people who speak English only, and a smaller proportion of those speaking a non-English language (either exclusively, or in addition to English). Overall, 76.8% of the population speak English only, and 18.2% speak a non-English language, compared with 70.4% and 24.7% respectively for Greater Capital Cities. The dominant language spoken at home, other than English, in the Australia is Mandarin, with 1.6% of the population, or 336,178 people speaking this language at home. Australian English probably originated as a combination of British regional dialects used by groups of convicts and others who came to the colonies. Australian English is different from British and American English but does not vary much regionally. Various social factors affect accent and style, including social class, education, gender (women tend to use the cultivated variety more than men do), and age. The indigenous language remains the main language for about 50,000 (0.25%) people. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 6,500 deaf people. While English is Australia’s national language, there are certain words and expressions that have become regarded as uniquely Australian through common usage. Some of them might seem strange to non-Australians. The use of these colloquial or slang words, often coupled with an Australian sense of humour that is characterized by irony and irreverence, can sometimes cause confusion for international visitors. There are a number of books on Australian colloquialisms and slang, including the Macquarie Book of Slang. TASKS I. Read the text. Find the words that match the definitions below: 1) to show, express, or be a sign of something; 2) something that you give or do in order to help something be successful; 3) the length of time that a person or animal is expected to live; 4) someone who has the training and experience that is needed to do something well; 5)the degree to which an area is filled with people or things; 6) a woman or girl; 7) to be more in number than another group; 8) something that you think is true although you have no definite proof; 9) someone who lives or stays in a particular place; 10) a group of stocks owned by a particular person or company; 11) a period of 10 years; 12) the ability of a person, animal, or plant to produce babies, young animals, or seeds; 13) able to speak a language very well; 14) more powerful, important, or noticeable than other people or things; 15) very informal, sometimes offensive, language that is used especially by people who belong to a particular group, such as young people or criminals. Date: 2016-03-03; view: 1046
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