THE STATISTICS EXPLAINED

THE NT is Australia’s third largest geographical area and comprises 1 per cent of the national population.

This makes the NT the most sparsely populated Aussie jurisdiction, with 0.2 persons per square kilometre. More than half (59.6 per cent) of the NT’s population resides in Greater Darwin, and the remainder are dispersed over remote and very remote areas. About one third of the NT’s population is Aboriginal, with about 80 per cent residing in remote and very remote areas. The NT has a younger age profile than the nation’s, with a median age of 32.9 years compared to 37.3 years nationally. The large number of persons aged 25 to 34 years reflects the structure of NT’s economy, which has a strong mining, construction and defence presence.

As a result, the NT’s gender balance is skewed to males, with 108 males for every 100 females compared to the national rate of 99 males for every 100 females.

The NT’s population was 244,761 as at December 31, 2019. In 2019, the Territory’s population decreased by 0.4 per cent, mainly due to net interstate migration (down 3994 people) detracting from population growth, with positive contributions from natural increase (up 2517 people) and net overseas migration (up 535 people).

The NT generally has a much higher churn of migrants moving in and out. The number of departures from the NT increased by 5.8 per cent (up 1010) to 18,370 people in 2018. The 20-34 age group was the top contributor to the overall increase, with 6740 (up 360) leaving the NT.