Illawarra Demographics

Geographic Spread (Source:  Illawarra Regional Advisory Service (IRIS), 2004)

The Illawarra Region, beginning 45kms south of Sydney, covers 8,524 square kms., stretching from Helensburgh in the north to Durras Waters in the south and includes the centres of Bowral, Moss Vale and Mittagong to the west.  The Region spans the five Local Government Areas  (LGAs) of Kiama, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Wingecarribee and Wollongong.

The geography of the region is varied and unique.  On its eastern boundary the region embraces 242 km of coastal plain dotted with sandy beaches, steep cliffs, harbour inlets, rivers and lakes.  To the west are the rich agricultural soils and the rolling hills of the Southern Tablelands.  Dividing these vastly different landscapes is the sharp rise of the Illawarra Escarpment, which offers spectacular views of the coast.

Resources include steel making, coal making, coal mining, agricultural industries, tertiary education and tourism facilities.

The Illawarra Division of General Practice

The Illawarra Division of General Practice encompasses an area from Helensburgh in the north to Gerroa in the south and is bordered on the western side by the Illawarra Escarpment.  This is also covered by the South Eastern Sydney/Illawarra Area Health Service.  The South Eastern Sydney/Illawarra Area Health Service administers health services from Randwick in the north, to the Shoalhaven region in the south.

Population Statistics

The following statistics are drawn from A Statistical Guide to The Illawarra Region 2004 (Illawarra Regional Information Service), 02/03-05/06 Social Plan (Wollongong City Council, 2004), Snapshot Summary of the 2001 Census (Shellharbour City Council, 2004) and “Community Profile”, Social/Community Plan 2004-2009 (Kiama Municipal Council, March 2004).  Unless otherwise stated, figures are from the 2001 Census Data.

Table 1:  Demographic Information

Table 2:  Male:Female Ratio

Population Characteristics (Area by Area)

Wollongong

• Wollongong LGA has the highest population density, as well as covering the largest area.

• Population in the Wollongong LGA is ageing, with increases in all age categories from 40+ years (with the exception of the 65-69 age group).  There were decreases in the 0-4, 20-24 and 30-34 age groups and minor increases (less than 5%) in all other age groups under 40 years.

• 17% of the population speak a language other than English at home, the most common non-English languages spoken being Macedonian (21% of NESB population), Italian (20% of NESB population) and Greek (8% of NESB population).

• Youth unemployment rate in the Wollongong LGA is 10.5%, compared to the state’s youth unemployment rate of 7.6%.

• The types of family structure are consistent with state figures, with 47.1% couple families with children, 35.5% couple families without children, 15.8% single parent families and 1.5% other family types.

Shellharbour

• Shellharbour City has experienced the greatest population growth of 9.2% between 1995-2000 (IRIS).  

• Shellharbour has the highest level of 0-24 age group, at 37.8% of the population, although there has been a slight (2%) decrease since the 1996 Census.  Correspondingly, there has been a 2.2% rise of the 60+ age group (14.7%).

• 10.8% of the population speak a language other than English at home, the most common non-English languages spoken being Macedonian, Spanish and Italian.

• One new suburb has been created since 1996 and another suburb has been developed further, leading to a population increase of over 200% in that time in these two suburbs.

• There is a 3.8% decrease in the number of individuals earning less than $299 per week and a 4.3% increase in the number of individuals earning between $300-$999 per week.

• The unemployment rate of persons aged between 15-64 is just under half that of Wollongong LGA.

Kiama

• Kiama LGA is a mix of urban and rural areas, reflecting a broad range of age groups.

• Kiama has the highest median age of the three LGAs (39 years), this is also higher than the state average (35 years).

• 27.3% of the Kiama LGA population is described as an “older person” (higher than compared with the state population of 22.5%).

• Only 4.1% of the population stating they were born in a mainly non-English speaking country (compared with 16.1% of NSW population).  There are areas within the LGA where there are no NESB persons.  The most common non-English languages spoken in Kiama are Italian (0.5% of total population), German and Greek (both 0.3% of total population).

• 41.9% of the population aged between 15 and 24 years in Kiama are unemployed.  However, the unemployment rate across all age ranges in Kiama (6.0%) is still lower than the state average of 7.2%.

• 48.4% of the population are living in a couple family group with children, 38.7% are a couple family without children and 12% are a one-parent family.  8.1% of the population live alone.

General Population Characteristics

In each of the LGAs covered by the Illawarra Division of General Practice, the biggest employer is the wholesale and retail sector.  In Wollongong and Shellharbour, the second-biggest employer is the manufacturing sector, with community services (including health) the third-biggest employer.  In Kiama, however, these figures are reversed, with community services (including health) being second-biggest employer and manufacturing services the third-biggest employer (Source:  IRIS).

This reflects the changing face of the Illawarra, which was previously mostly involved in heavy industry, mining and other primary industry (including agriculture and aquaculture).  Mining now employs only 1% of the workforce (half of that from 1996) and numbers of workers in manufacturing has declined from 15.1% in 1996 to 13.7% in 2001.  Similarly, workers in agriculture, forestry and fishing have decreased to 1.6% (down from 1.8% in 1996).  By comparison, the wholesale & retail trade sector has increased from 18.5% in 1996 to 19.8% in 2001, health and community services has increased to 10.4% of the employed population and the education sector has also seen an increase (to 8.5% in 2001).

Each LGA has new housing developments, attracting young families.  Especially in northern Wollongong, a number of people commute from the Illawarra to work in Sydney, having been attracted to the area by the comparatively lower cost of housing and better lifestyle in the beachside suburbs.

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