Canberra’s population grew by 2.3 per cent in 2012, as new Australia Bureau of Statistics figures showed 379,600 people now call the ACT home.
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The increase, the second highest nationally, was driven by a rising number of newborn babies and growing rates of interstate migration to the territory last year.
The total number of births grew by 8.1 per cent in 2012, while 1900 people arrived from interstate.
Canberra’s women continue to live longer than their male counterparts, with just six Canberra men aged 100 years or older and 23 women in the same age bracket according to the latest figures.
The ACT’s median age for women in 2012 was 35.4 years and 33.7 for men.
Australia’s national population grew by 1.8 per cent last year, and Western Australia lead growth rates at 3.5 per cent.
The nation’s population rose by more than 91,000 people to 22,906 million. In April 2013, the population reached 23 million people, separate figures showed.
The ACT population makes up just 1.7 per cent of the national total.
The new figures issued on Thursday also show Canberra’s population has grown by 27.2 per cent since 1991 and 1.9 per cent since 2011.
Fewer than 500 ACT residents departed to live interstate or overseas in 2012.
While all states and territories recorded an increase in deaths since 2006, the largest increase of 13.3 per cent was in the ACT.
Bureau director of demography Bjorn Jarvis said the increase in Australia’s population growth rate was driven primarily by overseas migration.
More than 235,000 people from overseas moved to Australia in 2012.
“Net overseas migration added 235,900 people to the population in 2012, which is a 17 per cent increase over 2011,” he said.
“Net overseas migration accounted for 60 per cent of Australia's total growth, with the remaining 40 per cent due to natural increase. Notably, 2012 also saw a 4 per cent rise in natural increase, which is the largest increase in almost four years.”
