There are well over 500 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Australia, and the rate these LGAs grow at changesyear toyear.
Population Size and Area Differences
Australia’s LGAs are not all the same size. In terms of area, LGAs range from being over 300,000 km2 (e.g. East Pilbara in Western Australia) to close to one square km (e.g. Peppermint Grove in Western Australia). Similarly population varies greatly between LGAs. The largest LGAs, like Brisbane (Queensland), have populations over 1million, while the smallest, like Maralinga Tjarutja (South Australia) have populations under 100.
This means the growth in the number of people, as well as the growth rate, is important to consider in comparisons across LGAs.
Drivers of growth
Not only do LGAs differ in the speed at which they grow, they also differ in how they grow. There are three components that make up the population growth of an LGA:
Net overseas migration: The balance between people moving into and out from the LGA from overseas.
Net internal migration: The balance between people moving into and out from the LGA from elsewhere in Australia.
Natural increase: The difference between the number of births and number of deaths in the LGA.
Which are the fastest growing LGAs currently?
For the latest data on which LGAs were the fastest and slowest growing, please see our Fastest Growing LGAs dashboard.
