Estimated resident population (ERP) is the official measure of the Australian population.

This dataset presents estimated resident population for 30 June 2001 to 30 June 2021 by Local Government Areas (LGA), 2021. Estimates are final for 2001 to 2016, and preliminary rebased for 2017 to 2021.

What is ERP?
ERP links people to a place of usual residence within Australia. Usual residence is the address at which a person considers themselves to currently live, either having lived there for some time or intending to live there for some time. ERP includes all people who usually live in Australia (regardless of nationality, citizenship or visa status), with the exception of people present for foreign military, consular or diplomatic reasons. It includes usual residents who are overseas for less than 12 months out of a continuous 16-month period. It excludes those who are in Australia for less than 12 months out of a continuous 16-month period. ERP is prepared by adding births, subtracting deaths and adding the net of overseas and internal migration to a base population derived from the latest Census of Population and Housing.

The LGA estimates in this product are subject to some error. Some caution should be exercised when using the estimates, especially for areas with very small populations. Estimates of under three people should be regarded as synthetic due to confidentiality procedures. For further information about the data see: Regional Population Methodology.

Made possible by the Digital Atlas of Australia
The Digital Atlas of Australia is an Australian Government initiative being led by Geoscience Australia. It will bring together trusted datasets from across government in an interactive, secure, and easy-to-use geospatial platform. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is working in partnership with Geoscience Australia to establish a set of web services to make ABS data available in the Digital Atlas.

The Digital Atlas of Australia beta will be available by mid-2023.

Contact the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
If you have questions, feedback or would like to receive updates about this web service, please email geography@abs.gov.au. For information about how the ABS manages any personal information you provide view the ABS privacy policy.

Data and geography references
Source data publication: Regional population, 2021
Geographic boundary information: Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3
Further information: Regional population methodology, 2021
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)