Canberra has experienced strong and sustained growth, adding approximately 30,000 people since 2012, and is expected to continue to grow. This growth is driven by a combination of factors: natural increase, retention of people of a diversity of ages, and overseas and interstate immigration. New residents are attracted to Canberra for the education, jobs and lifestyle opportunities created by our strong economy and attractive natural and social assets.
Our population is the second youngest in Australia, but is also ageing. In 2016, 12% of our population was aged 65 or over, with that figure expected to continue to rise. The change in our demographic profile has significant implications for housing provision, community services and infrastructure.
Map 1: ACT Population density in 2016 (residents per hectare of built footprint at suburb level). Click to view larger version.