2,043,762 ▲ +25.6%
Higher than 92% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 1,627,576
- 2016: 1,874,578
- 2021: 2,043,762
The number of people who usually live in the area, counted on Census night.
Perth · Urban Centre
Demographics & Identity in Perth
Who lives here — how many people, how old they are, and how communities identify.
Over 2 million people now live in Perth, making it one of the largest areas in the country. It is a relatively young city where the typical resident is 37, and the population has grown by 26% since 2011.
2,043,762
▲ +25.6%
- 1–2: 3 areas
- 2–3: 0 areas
- 3–5: 0 areas
- 5–9: 0 areas
- 9–16: 2 areas
- 16–27: 1 area
- 27–47: 2 areas
- 47–81: 2 areas
- 81–139: 14 areas
- 139–241: 145 areas
- 241–418: 340 areas
- 418–723: 351 areas
- 723–1,252: 304 areas
- 1,252–2,168: 191 areas
- 2,168–3,752: 181 areas
- 3,752–6,495: 107 areas
- 6,495–11,242: 69 areas
- 11,242–19,459: 44 areas
- 19,459–33,683: 31 areas
- 33,683–58,304: 17 areas
- 58,304–100,921: 8 areas
- 100,921–174,689: 8 areas
- 174,689–302,378: 4 areas
- 302,378–523,401: 5 areas
- 523,401–905,982: 2 areas
- 905,982–1,568,210: 1 area
- 1,568,210–2,714,494: 2 areas
- 2,714,494–4,698,656: 2 areas
All urban centre areas, 2021. The marker is Perth — higher than 92% of areas.
| Perth | 2,043,762 |
|---|---|
| 6021, WA | 20,980 |
| Western Australia | 2,660,026 |
| Australia | 25,422,788 |
Population
How many people, and the typical age.
The population grew by about 416,186 people between 2011 and 2021. This makes the area one of the largest at this level.
37 yrs ▲ +2.8%
Younger than 79% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 36 yrs
- 2016: 36 yrs
- 2021: 37 yrs
Half the population is older than this age, and half younger.
Age profile
How the population splits across age groups.
Young adults aged 25 to 44 make up the largest group at 29.1%. While the proportion of children has stayed steady at 19.0%, the share of seniors rose 3 points since 2011 to reach 15.7%.
15.7% ▲ +24.0%
Lower than 73% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 12.7%
- 2016: 13.8%
- 2021: 15.7%
Share of the population aged 65 years and over.
19.0% ▲ +0.1%
Higher than 61% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 19.0%
- 2016: 19.1%
- 2021: 19.0%
Share of the population aged under 15 years.
Age structure
View on map →Perth splits fairly evenly between Young adults (25–44) (29%) and Older adults (45–64) (24%), with Children (0–14) at 19%.
Identity & relationships
First Nations identity and marital status.
About 47.5% of residents are married, while 36.2% have never married. Those identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander make up 1.9% of the population, which is much lower than in most other areas.
1.9% ▲ +27.0%
Lower than 78% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 1.5%
- 2016: 1.6%
- 2021: 1.9%
Share of people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
11.5% ▲ +14.2%
Lower than 68% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 10.1%
- 2016: 11.0%
- 2021: 11.5%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in a de facto marriage (registered marriages excluded).
Marital status
View on map →In Perth, the largest group is Married at 48%, followed by Never married (36%) and Divorced (9%).
Age & sex structure
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Perth
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Demographics & Identity in Perth [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ucl/UCL501001/perth/topic/demographics-identity