Population of New South Wales 2024

NSW population 2017

New South Wales also known as NSW has the largest population in Australia. The state’s capital city is Sydney. Sydney is Australia’s most populated city with an estimated population of over 4.4 million people. NSW is located in south-eastern Australia. It has a total area of 800,642 km² and covers 10.4 percent of Australia. New South Wales’ coastline is only 2137 km long.

Based on our research New South Wales population will reach 8.431 million by the end of June of 2024. We use end of June each year due to ABS always follow Australia financial year when pushed the data. The calculation is based on the average growth rate of 1.21% over last 12 years since 2011. We believe using the recent years’ figures (see the table in next section) will make the estimation more accurate.

Population Growth of New South Wales

Looking back last twelve years of New South Wales’s population, the growth rate is very consistent ranging from 0.94% to 1.65%, adding around 80,000 to 120,000 people each year to the overall population. Lots of workers were moving to New South Wales to take advantage of employment opportunities there, which contributes to the population growth. Of all other states and territories, NSW growth rate is on average.

Year Population Growth rate
2011 7.21 million n/a
2012 7.29 million 1.11%
2013 7.41 million 1.65%
2014 7.50 million 1.21%
2015 7.62 million 1.60%
2016 7.70 million 1.05%
2017 7.81 million 1.43%
2018 7.89 million 1.02%
2019 7.992 million 1.29%
2020 8.072 million 1.00%
2021 8.163 million 1.13%
2022 8.24 million 0.94%
2023 8.33 million 1.09%

 

Demography of New South Wales

According to Australia census, 49.3 percent of the NSW population is male and 50.7 percent are female. The top five ancestries for people in NSW are: Australian, English, Irish, Scottish and Chinese. The top five languages (other than English) spoken in NSW are: Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Greek. The top six countries of birth for people in NSW are: Australia, England, China, New Zealand, India and Vietnam.

The religious makeup of New South Wales is: 27.5% Catholic, 19.9% Anglican, 17.9% No religion, 7.7% Religious affiliation not stated, 3.9% Uniting Church, 3.2% Islam, 3.1% Presbyterian and Reformed, 3.1% Eastern Orthodox, 2.9% Buddhism, 1.8% Christian.

Population Density of New South Wales

New South Wales’s population density is 8.64 people per kilometer, which is ranking 3nd most populated state in Australia after Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. We are a bit surprised NSW cannot top the list consider the population size of the state.

Position State Population Density
1 Australian Capital Territory 151.49
2 Victoria 23.54
3 New South Wales 8.64
4 Tasmania 7.24
5 Queensland 2.50
6 South Australia 1.62
7 Western Australia 0.89
8 Northern Territory 0.16

 

Occupations and Industries

According to Australia Bureau of Statistics, the main occupations of people living in New South Wales are  Professionals (22.7%),  Clerical & administrative workers(15.1%),  Managers(13.3%), Technicians & trades workers(13.2%),  Community & personal service workers (9.5%),  Sales workers(9.3%), Labourers (8.7%), Machinery operators & drivers (6.4%).

The main industries people from New South Wales work in are: Health care(11.6%) and social assistance, Retail trade(10.3%),  Manufacturing(8.4%),  Education and training (7.9%), Professional(7.9%), scientific and technical services, Construction(7.3%),Accommodation and food services(6.7%),  Public administration and safety(6.1%),  Financial and insurance services(5.0%).

Facts About New South Wales

  1. New South Wales is sometimes called the ‘First State’ or the ‘Premier State’.
  2. The Sydney Opera House has one million tiles covering its roof.
  3. Sydney Harbor Bridge is the biggest bridge in Australia! It leads from one side to the other.
  4. The Sydney Tower is the tallest building in Sydney and the third tallest building in Australia.
  5. Famous Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman, Rebel Wilson, Rose Byrne and Toni Collette are from New South Wales.
  6. The lowest recorded temperature in Australia was recorded in 1994 in Charlotte Pass, NSW at a chilly -23°C.
  7. James Cook who was the first European to chart the area, named the entire eastern coast New South Wales because the countryside bore a resemblance to parts of southern Wales. He named it and claimed it in 1770.
  8. New South Wales’ three big cities are Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong which all lie along the coast.
  9. The typical annual wage in New South Wales is close to $80,000.

References

The following links provide data to this topic: