Snowy River
Indicator: Population
Results for this indicator are also available for [an error occurred while processing this directive]
What the results tell us for Snowy River
Snowy River Shire Council population remains relatively static with only a small percentage fall in growth observed. According to the 2006 Census there were 7,554 residents in the Shire with an estimated 7,727 people in 2007. Since the end of the previous Regional State of the Environment Reporting period, the population of the Shire is estimated to have increased by 1.1% or 302 persons.
Compared with New South Wales (NSW), Snowy River Shire has a younger population, a lower but stable Indigenous population and a slight decrease in the proportion of persons born overseas compared to a slight increase for the State. Along with many other jurisdictions in Australia, Snowy River Shire Council will need to consider the impacts in the future of an ageing population on its economy and infrastructure.
The composition of households has continued the trend noted in the 2004 report with a further reduction in the number of households comprising couples with children and a consequent increase in couples without children and also lone person households. These are similar to trends observed in other Shire Councils and NSW.
Population is growing in number and age
The population in Snowy River Shire was 7,554 at the 2006 Census (Table 1). Based on the latest available ABS figures (2008), it can be seen that the population rose by 302 since 2004. This represents an annual average rate of growth of 1.1% for the period, compared with 0.7% average for the Australian Capital Region for the period, and 0.8% for NSW. Compared with all local government areas across the State, the Shire ranked 11 out of 149 for the fastest growth and 73 out of 152 for the largest growth. Figure 1 illustrates the population for the years 2004 to 2007, showing the annual estimated residential population at 30 June for each year.
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Population Change 2004-2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7,425 | 7,469 | 7,554 | 7,727 | 302 (1.1 % p.a.) |
See About the data for Australian Bureau of Statistics comments on years 2001-2007
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Catalogue No. 3218.0 (2008)
Figure 1. Population growth, Snowy River Shire, 2004 to 2007
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Catalogue No. 3218.0 (2008)
Since the 2004 report Snowy River Shire Council has experienced a slight increase in population but the population demographic is continuing the trend of decreasing youth and increasing proportions of “middle” and older persons. The decreasing youth population was noted in the last report in 2004 but the decrease has slowed to be 0.2% to 18.6% in 2006 compared to 2001 and has actually increased compared to the 1996 level of 17.2%. The proportion of “middle” age group remained static over the 2001-2006 period as opposed to the fall noted in the previous report. The proportion of the population aged 65+ increased by only 0.2% compared with the 1.8% increase during 1996-2001 period. The median age as at 2006 was 33 years in Snowy River Shire Council compared with the State median of 37 years. In 2001 the median was 30 with 35 for the State, and in 1996, 28 and 34 years respectively. Percentages and figures are illustrated in Table 2.
These trends are similar to those evident in other Shires in the Region yet of a lower magnitude. Snowy River Shire is one of the few with a lower median age than the State.
| Age | 1996 | 2001 | 2006 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| <15 years | 3,047 | 17.2 | 3,525 | 18.8 | 3,604 | 18.6 |
| 15–64 years | 13,913 | 78.6 | 14,069 | 75.1 | 14,570 | 75.1 |
| 65+ years | 737 | 4.2 | 1,144 | 6.1 | 1,215 | 6.3 |
| Totals | 17,697 | 100 | 18,738 | 100 | 19,389 | 100 |
See About the data for Australian Bureau of Statistics comments on this table
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Census 2006 Time Series Profile Catalogue No. 2003.0
Ethnicity and diversity
Gender
Snowy River Shire Council’s population as at the 2006 Census was split 55.5% male and 44.5% female. Compared with the gender distribution for NSW (49.3% males to 50.7% females), the Shire’s population is the reverse of the trend observed in the State and other Shire Councils. See Figures 2 and 3 for a comparison of the gender and age distribution for the Shire and NSW respectively.
Figure 2. Age and sex distribution, Snowy River Shire, 2006
Source of data: Australian Bureau of Statistics Census 2006 Time Series Profile Catalogue No. 2003.0
Figure 3. Age and sex distribution, NSW, 2006
Source of data: Australian Bureau of Statistics Census 2006 Time Series Profile Catalogue No. 2003.0
Origins
In 2006 85.7% of Snowy River Shire Council’s non-Indigenous residents were born in Australia, compared with 85.6% in 2001 and 85.0% in 1996 (Table 3). In comparison, NSW has also experienced a drop of about 1% between Censuses (1996, 2001, 2006). The proportion of indigenous population for the Shire has also remained consistent since the last report at 0.8% of the population. This remains a lower percentage compared with the rest of the State (2.2%) in 2006. The “Born overseas” group has reduced by 0.2% to 13.5% in the 2006 Census from 13.7% in 2001 compared with the gradual increase (0.65%) in proportion experienced by NSW.
| Origin | 1996 Census | 2001 Census | 2006 Census | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| Indigenous persons | 86 | 0.5 | 125 | 0.8 | 128 | 0.8 |
| Born in Australia | 14,070 | 85.0 | 14,111 | 85.6 | 13,864 | 85.7 |
| Born overseas (a) | 2,403 | 14.5 | 2,256 | 13.7 | 2,180 | 13.5 |
| Total | 16,559 | 0 | 16,492 | 100 | 16,172 | 100 |
See About the data for notes on (a)
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Census 2006 Time Series Profile Catalogue No. 2003.0
Households and family type
In 2006, 40.7% of Shire residents lived in one-family households consisting of 18.5% couples with children, 17.9% couples with no children and 4.0% were one-parent families. About 15.7% of the population consisted of lone person households. (Table 4). The group with the most significant percentage drop was the “One parent family” group, but having fallen only by 0.6% or 9 households since the 1996 Census whereas the percentage of households occupied by “Lone person households” rose by 15.7%. The static proportion of couple families with children indicates stability in the family structure in the Snowy River Shire which is in contrast to many other Shires in the region whom have experienced a decrease.
| Household composition | 1996 Census | 2001 Census | 2006 Census | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwellings | % | Dwellings | % | Dwellings | % | |
| One family household: | ||||||
| Couple family with children | 645 | 22.6 | 639 | 18.5 | 674 | 18.5 |
| Couple family without children | 523 | 18.3 | 627 | 18.2 | 652 | 17.9 |
| One parent family | 127 | 4.4 | 158 | 4.6 | 147 | 4.0 |
| Other family | 16 | 0.6 | 15 | 0.4 | 11 | 0.3 |
| Total | 1,311 | 45.9 | 1,439 | 41.7 | 1,484 | 40.7 |
| Miscellaneous households: | ||||||
| Group household | 123 | 4.3 | 111 | 3.2 | 84 | 2.3 |
| Lone person household | 472 | 16.5 | 512 | 14.8 | 572 | 15.7 |
| Other household (c) | 949 | 33.2 | 1,391 | 40.3 | 1,511 | 41.4 |
| Total | 2,855 | 100 | 3,453 | 100 | 3,651 | 100 |
For notes on (a), (b) and (c) see About the data
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Census 2006 Time Series Profile, Catalogue No. 2003.0
Where people are working and what they are earning
The accommodation and food services sector is by far the highest employer as at the 2006 census at 17.4% although also experiencing the largest fall of 6.9% since the 2001 census. With this sector representing 6.6% for the State, this indicates that Snowy River Shire is a major employer for this sector and is expected as it represents one of the States high tourism areas in the NSW snowfields.
The health care sector is the next highest employer with 7.9% in 2006, an increase of 1% since 2001. The construction sector represented 7.8% of the workforce in 2006 which is an increase of 1.3% since 2001 and compares with 7.3% for the State.
The arts and recreation sector has had the largest increase of 4.8% since the 2001 census and a tripling of persons employed from 202 to 686.
| Industry of employment (a) | 1996 Census | 2001 Census | 2006 Census | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons | % | Persons | % | Persons | % | |
| Agriculture, forestry & fishing | 505 | 4.5 | 496 | 4.6 | 397 | 3.9 |
| Mining | 75 | 0.7 | 33 | 0.3 | 67 | 0.7 |
| Manufacturing | 625 | 5.6 | 580 | 5.4 | 473 | 4.6 |
| Electricity, gas, water & waste services | 166 | 1.5 | 146 | 1.4 | 140 | 1.4 |
| Construction | 727 | 6.5 | 698 | 6.5 | 802 | 7.8 |
| Wholesale trade | 417 | 3.7 | 332 | 3.1 | 253 | 2.5 |
| Retail trade | 835 | 7.5 | 910 | 8.5 | 953 | 9.3 |
| Accommodation & food services | 2,603 | 23.4 | 2,647 | 24.8 | 1,804 | 17.7 |
| Transport, postal & warehousing | 357 | 3.2 | 318 | 3.0 | 314 | 3.1 |
| Information media & telecommunications | 219 | 2.0 | 246 | 2.3 | 160 | 1.6 |
| Financial & insurance services | 495 | 4.4 | 365 | 3.4 | 378 | 3.7 |
| Rental, hiring & real estate services | 284 | 2.5 | 295 | 2.8 | 247 | 2.4 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | 886 | 8.0 | 816 | 7.6 | 779 | 7.6 |
| Administrative & support services | 303 | 2.7 | 310 | 2.9 | 281 | 2.7 |
| Public administration & safety | 653 | 5.9 | 443 | 4.2 | 584 | 5.7 |
| Education & training | 472 | 4.2 | 626 | 5.9 | 646 | 6.3 |
| Health care & social assistance | 699 | 6.3 | 738 | 6.9 | 806 | 7.9 |
| Arts & recreation services | 200 | 1.8 | 202 | 1.9 | 686 | 6.7 |
| Other services | 398 | 3.6 | 297 | 2.8 | 250 | 2.4 |
| Inadequately described/Not stated | 214 | 1.9 | 166 | 1.6 | 198 | 1.9 |
| Total | 11,133 | 100 | 10,664 | 100 | 10,218 | 100 |
For notes on (a) see About the data
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Census 2006 Time Series Profile, Catalogue No. 2003.0
The median individual income for the Snowy River Shire as at 30 June 2006 was $653 per week compared with $460 for NSW, and the median household income was $1,154 ($1,034 for the State).
About the data
Data for this indicator were sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics
Data for Table 1— Estimated Residential Population Australian Bureau of Statistics Catalogue No. 3218.0. Years 2004-2006 are preliminary rebased figures, whereas 2007 figures are preliminary. The figure for 2004 was only preliminary at the time of writing the 2004 State of the Environment Report, therefore it has now been revised. As explained in the Extract from Explanatory Notes, Australian Bureau of Statistics—Catalogue No. 3218.0 (2008), ‘To meet the conflicting demands for accuracy and timeliness there are several versions of sub-State/territory population estimates. Preliminary estimates are normally available nine months after the reference date (i.e. March), revised estimates twelve months later and rebased and final estimates after the following census.' Estimated population is preliminary rebased for 2002 to 2006, based on results of the 2006 Census of Population and Housing, and preliminary for 2007. At the time of writing, final 2006 Census-based estimates for 2002 to 2006, together with the first revision of 2007 were not yet available.
Data for Table 2 – Selected Person Characteristics: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Time Series Profile (T01), Catalogue No. 2003.0, Commonwealth of Australia, 2006.
Data for Table 3 – Selected Person Characteristics: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Time Series Profile (T01), Catalogue No. 2003.0, Commonwealth of Australia, 2006, (a) Includes 'Australian External Territories', 'Inadequately described', 'At sea' and 'Not elsewhere classified'.
Data for Table 4 —Dwelling Structure by Household Composition and Family Composition: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Time Series Profile (T14), Catalogue No. 2003.0, Commonwealth of Australia, 2006 (a) The 'Household Composition' variable replaced 'Household Type', which was used in 1996 and 2001; (b) The 'Family Composition' variable replaced 'Family Type', which was used in 1996 and 2001; (c) Comprises 'Visitors only' and 'Other not classifiable' households.
Data for Table 5 — Industry types in Snowy River Shire: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Time Series Profile (T25), Catalogue No. 2003.0, Commonwealth of Australia, 2006. (a) Industry of employment was coded to the 2006 Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) edition. This has replaced the 1993 ANZSIC edition. Data for 1996 and 2001 have been concorded.
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007) Regional Population Growth, Australia, 1996 to 2006, Catalogue No. 3218.0 — ‘Estimated Residential Population—30 June ', Commonwealth of Australia, http://www.abs.gov.au/
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008) Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2006-07, Catalogue No. 3218.0 — ‘Population Estimates by Local Government Area, 2001 to 2007 — 30 June', Commonwealth of Australia, http://www.abs.gov.au/
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006) Time Series Profile, Catalogue No. 2003.0, Commonwealth of Australia, http://www.abs.gov.au/
