Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

The ACT in 1989 and 2010PopulationIn 1911, when the international design competition for the national capital was announced,the population of the (then) Federal Capital Territory was “1714 people, 1763 horses, 8412cattle, and 224,764 sheep”. 20 In 1990, the ACT population was around 283,000. Canberratoday has a population of more than 350,000 (with that growth over time matched by acommensurate decline in its livestock holdings).Canberra’s population growth rate has averaged 1.2% over ten years, which is belowAustralia’s overall growth rate. Over the last ten years the 0-14 age group experienced adecline in average annual growth while the number of individuals in the population aged over85 more than doubled, growing by an average of 7.9% per year. Based on current trends, theACT's population is projected to reach 400,000 by 2022; 434,300 by 2030 and 500,000 by2050. Currently 9.5% of the population is aged sixty-five or older and this cohort is expectedto double by 2030.GrowthToday, largely as a result of decisions made by the various bodies and people responsible forthe development of Canberra from 1913 to 1989, the city occupies a geographical areaspanning around 40 kilometres from North to South and 25 kilometres from East to West.This is broadly equivalent to the area of Sydney bounded by the coast to the East, Hornsby tothe North, Cronulla to the South, and Strathfield to the West. As shown in Figure 3 below,the spread of Canberra is comparable with Greater London which has a population of morethan seven million.20 Taylor, K. & Headon, D. (eds) (1997) Canberra. The Guide. Harper Collins, Sydney, p.22.Context for the Review: 35