Australia ethnic Demographics

Quality of Life

Mercer’s 2015 Quality of Life Index list covers 230 cities, ranked against New York as the base city, Sydney ranked 10th worldwide.

Aspects of the Quality of Life measures may vary considerably for Sydneysiders. As demonstrated in previous sections of this document quality of life may be diminished due to limited access to affordable housing, a diverse range of jobs and education options and a regular well connected public transport system. This seems to be strongly influenced by a person’s place of residence.

Key Facts & Figures

Sydney has a diverse and dynamic ethnic mix with 31.7 per cent of the population of Sydney born overseas, compared with just 22.2 per cent of the overall Australian population.

• The Sydney Metropolitan Region recorded an estimated resident population of 4, 509, 586 in 2014. This is an annual growth rate of 1.8%.

• Based on NSW Planning and Environment population projections to 2031 and using 2014 as a base year, Camden will have the highest annual growth rate of 4.8%, followed by The Hills at 2.7%, Campbelltown 2.4%, Liverpool 2.3% and Auburn 2.1%.

• The LGAs with the greatest absolute projected increase in population are Blacktown with 160, 950, Camden and The Hills with 103, 900, and Liverpool with 100, 850 more residents by 2031.

• According to the Intergenerational Report 2010, over the next 40 years, the number of people aged 65-84 is expected to more than double.

• Overall 28.3% of residents aged 15yrs and over have attained a Bachelor Degree or Post Graduate qualification in Sydney Metropolitan Area compared to a national average of 23.7%.

• Sydney needs to grow an additional 600, 000 jobs to support the anticipated 1.3 million increase in population by 2031.

• Unemployment in the Sydney Region was 5.1% in December 2014, compared to 6.8% in NSW.

• The NSW Government has set a housing target of around 664, 000 new dwellings over the next 20 years.

• According to the 2006 Census, there were almost 16, 000 homeless people in the Sydney Region.

• According to 2011 Census data, 45, 725 Indigenous people live in the Sydney region. 8663 more than was counted in the 2006 census.

Projected Population

The South West subregion is projected to record an additional 301, 873 residents by 2031 (2.2% per annum), equating to 23% of projected population growth within the Sydney Metropolitan Region. The majority of growth is projected to be recorded in Liverpool, Campbelltown, and Camden LGAs.

The West Central subregion is projected to record population growth of 360, 805 residents (1.7% per annum) by 2031, equating to 27% of projected population growth within the Sydney Metropolitan Region. The majority of growth is projected to be recorded in the North West Growth Centre in Blacktown and The Hills, with strong population growth also forecast for Auburn.

Projected population growth in the West subregion is expected to be driven by increased residential density, with over 100, 000 additional residents expected by 2031. Strong growth is expected within the Penrith and Hawkesbury LGAs. The Central subregion is projected to record an additional 106, 712 residents by 2031 at an average growth rate of 1.6%, with Sydney LGA expected to account for the majority of the growth.

The North and South subregions are projected to record lower average growth of 1.1% per annum, with increases in residential density around major transport nodes the main driver of population growth.

Overall, 41.6% of people residing in the Sydney Metropolitan Region were born overseas according to the 2011 census. Table 9 shows the breakdown of the top five countries of birth at the subregion level. The United Kingdom was the top non-Australian country of birth for the overall Sydney Region, and for the Central, North and West Subregions, while still ranking highly in the remaining subregions. China was the second leading country of birth for the Sydney Region but was not in the top five for West and South West.

The settlement patterns of new arrivals over a five year period for the Sydney Metropolitan Region is provided in Table 10 below. Drilling down to the local government level, Fairfield LGA is the highest recipient of Family Reunion and Humanitarian Settlers. Other high ranking areas of settlement for Humanitarian Settlers are Blacktown, Parramatta, Canterbury and City of Sydney. City of Sydney LGA is the highest recipient of skilled settlers, followed by Parramatta, Blacktown, Randwick and Ryde.

Click here for more on Sydney's Social & Demographic Profile, as contained in RDA Sydney Regional Plan.