Darwin, Northern Territory - Demographics

Demographics

In 2006, the largest ancestry groups in Darwin were, Australian (42,221 or 36.9 per cent), English (29,766 or 26 per cent), Irish (9,561 or 8.3 per cent), Scottish (7,815 or 6.8 per cent), Chinese (3,502 or 3 per cent), Greek (2,828 or 2.4 per cent), and Italian (2,367 or 2 per cent)

Darwin's population is notable for the highest proportional population of Aborigines of any Australian capital city. In the 2006 census 10,259 (9.7 per cent) of Darwin's population was Aboriginal.

Darwin's population changed after the Second World War. Darwin, like many other Australian cities, experienced influxes from Europe, with significant numbers of Italians and Greeks during the 1960s and 1970s. Darwin also started to experience an influx from other European countries, which included the Dutch, Germans, and many others. A significant percentage of Darwin's residents are recent immigrants from South East Asia (Asian Australians were 9.3% of Darwin's population in 2001).

Darwin's population comprises people from many ethnic backgrounds. The 2006 Census revealed that the most common places of birth for overseas migrants were the United Kingdom (3.4 per cent), New Zealand (2.1 per cent), the Philippines (1.4 per cent) and East Timor (0.9 per cent). 18.3 percent of the city's population was born overseas, which is less than the Australian average of 22%.

Darwin has a youthful population with an average age of 33 years (compared to the national average of around 37 years) assisted to a large extent by the military presence and the fact that many people opt to retire elsewhere.

The most common languages spoken in Darwin after English are Greek, Italian, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Cantonese.