Population, housing and transport indicators for NSW

• Talina Drabsch
• NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service

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20 June 2011The areas of population, housing and transport are of great importance and can reflect the wellbeing or otherwise of a community. They are complex areas and in many ways involve questions of how to best balance the needs of various groups within society and ensure equitable access to resources. These topics are closely related. Population size, its projected growth, and where that growth is likely to occur, impacts upon housing demand and supply and drives transport requirements.

Consideration of population related matters, particularly what is considered the ideal population size and how it is constituted, frequently provokes heated debate whether discussion is focused on a specific city, a regional area, or Australia as a whole. This paper provides data for a variety of population indicators, including current population numbers, fertility and death rates, age distribution, ethnicity, population growth, population distribution and projected population numbers.

The issues surrounding housing are complex and evolving. As the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has noted:

During the second half of the twentieth century, the typical housing lifecycle moved from renting in early adulthood, to home purchase and mortgages as partnerships were formed and children born, to outright home ownership in older age. Today, declining marriage and fertility rates, dissolution of households through separation and divorce, an ageing population, increased life expectancy and challenges in housing affordability are altering this cycle.

This paper includes data on: the types of dwellings people occupy; the average sale and rental prices in NSW; the relative cost of housing compared to income; an overview of social housing and homelessness; and the location of housing compared to places of employment.