By Jeremy Cook
An estimated 453 additional people now call the Southern Downs home, recently released data has revealed.
According to ABS data published in late-March, the population of the whole Southern Downs council area grew by an estimated 1.2 per cent to 37,444 in the last financial year.
The region was the 43rd fastest out of Queensland’s 77 local government areas for population growth, the data showed.
The region’s biggest driver of population growth was net migration from within Australia at 342, followed by net overseas migration at 157.
Net births proved easily the lowest driver of growth in the Southern Downs at negative 46, meaning only five local government areas across the state lost more people to net births.
At two per cent, population grew fastest in the region’s north west by an estimated 103 people, followed by the region’s east at 1.6 per cent, and Warwick by 1.1 per cent.
Population growth was slowest in the Granite Belt region, rising by less than one percentage point.
The data, published annually by the ABS, estimates the residential population for all local government areas and geographical regions with populations between 3,000 and 25,000 by making mathematical adjustments to census data.
The estimates are the official population numbers used by the ABS between census years.
