Population growth for Canberra at 20-year high BY EWA KRETOWICZ
A baby boom and an influx of immigrants boosted the capital’s population by almost 4500 last year. Canberrans may be leaving at the rate of four a day, but the ACT’s population grew to 340,800 an increase of 1.3 per cent.
Data issued by the Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday showed Australia had its fastest population increase in 20 years.
The biggest increase to Canberra’s population came from births. A record 4750 babies were born in the territory last year about 90 a week.
Interstate migration accounted for 8per cent of the population increase, with 350 people becoming ACT residents in 2007. Overseas migration was responsible for 44 per cent of the growth.
Last year 960 more people came to live in Canberra from overseas than left Canberra to live overseas the highest result in 20 years.
Deborah and Patric Harper will celebrate their silver wedding anniversary today, marking the first time the couple will have celebrated the day in Australia.
The couple migrated to the country last year, and love the ”life change”.
Lifestyle and weather drew them to Australia, and work opportunities led them to Canberra after a family holiday to Australia in 2004.
Mrs Harper said, ”Canberra feels like a country town. It doesn’t feel like a rat race.
”I love that you can come over the lake in the morning and see [hot air] balloons. You don’t see that in Leeds and that 15 minutes, that’s your traffic jam.”
She said the family’s quality of life was better and they were able to spend more time together.
Mrs Harper’s only regret was that they didn’t make the move earlier.
Australia-wide, the population increased 1.6 per cent to 21,181,000.The nation’s population density is three people a square kilometre; the ACT figure is 142 a square kilometre.
original source | Link posted by Dustagir Sheikh
