Georges River Council acknowledges the traditional inhabitants and custodians of the Georges River area, the Biddegal (Bidjigal/Bediagal/Bidegal) people of the Eora Nation.
Population
The estimated resident population at the 2016 Census was 149,489.
The Georges River Council Community Profile uses data from the 2016, 2011, 2006, 2001, 1996 and 1991 Australian censuses. It provides demographic information on our area’s residents, for each suburb and for the whole local government area. The information is presented in clear tables and charts with concise, factual information. Click on the below tabs to find out more about the Georges River area and its people.
Demographics
The 2016 Census revealed that the Georges River Council area has a slightly lower proportion of younger age groups (0 to 17 years) and a higher proportion of people in older age groups (60+ years) than the Greater Sydney average. Overall, 20.2% of the population was aged between 0 and 17, and 20.6% were aged 60 years and over, compared with 22.1% and 19.0% respectively for Greater Sydney.
The area has a high proportion of people born overseas (44.8%) and 42% of the population were from a non-English speaking background. The largest overseas country of birth in the Georges River Council area was China, where 16.1% of the population, or 23,654 people, were born. The next most common places of birth were Nepal (3.3%), Hong Kong (2.5%) and the United Kingdom (1.6%).
The countries of birth with the biggest net gain in number of residents between 2011 and 2016 were China (+5,168), Nepal (+3,081), The Philippines (+725), India (+397), and Bangladesh (+352).
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represented 0.5% of Georges River’s population in the 2016 Census.
Languages
The majority of residents in the area speak English well or very well (84.6%), with 42.3% of residents speaking only English. 53.4% of the population speak another language other than English. Between 2011 and 2016, the number of people who spoke a language other than English at home increased by 18.4%, and the number of people who spoke English only, decreased by 1.7%.
The most common languages spoken at home other than English are Chinese languages (17.7%), Greek (5.4%), and Arabic (3.6%). Those speaking Nepali has increased from 1.3% in 2011 to 3.4% (compared to 0.7% in Greater Sydney) in 2016 and is now the fifth most spoken language at home in the Georges River area.
Religions
The top five religions represented in the 2016 Census were: Catholic, Anglican, Greek Orthodox, Buddhism and Hinduism. The number of people in the Georges River area practicing Hinduism almost doubled from 2011 (3,362) to 2016 (6,700). Over a quarter (27.6%) of Council’s population, or 40,515 people, stated that they did not have a religion.