Canberra's 2026 population is now estimated at 523,285. In 1996, the population of Canberra was 322,723. Canberra has grown by 6,621 in the last year, which represents a 1.28% annual change. These population values and projections come from Australia urban centers over 10k series 1996-2021 via CityPopulation official attribution and World Population Review Internal Projections .
Although Canberra is Australia’s capital city, it is only the ninth largest city in the country. The latest census revealed that Canberra was home to 357,220 people in August 2011; an increase of just over 10% in just five years.
Canberra is a planned city that was not developed in one of Australia’s states; it is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, a small territory developed to ensure that Australia’s capital was not found in one of Australia’s five states, thus providing its neutrality.
Canberra covers 814 square kilometers (314 square miles) of area. With a population estimate of 403,468 as of 2016, this gives a population density of 495.6 people residing per square kilometer.
When it comes to demographics, Canberra is pretty similar to other major Australian cities in some respects and very different in others.
71.4% of its residents were born in Australia, slightly higher than the national average of 70.3% – perhaps a reflection that Canberra is a Government town. The next largest nationality is English (3.7%) and Chinese (1.8%).
Canberra is, though, one of the few cities where the largest religious group is, in fact, the non-religious. 28.9% of Canberrans told census takers that they did not have a religion. This is slightly higher than the proportion of Catholics (26.1%) and twice the population of Anglicans (14.7%).
Incomes in Canberra are much higher than the national average. The average weekly wage for an Australian is $577, but in Canberra, the average income is $917. Residents of Canberra are also much better educated than the average Australian. 4.5% of people living in Canberra have a postgraduate degree, compared with an average of 1.8% in the country as a whole. Again, this reflects Canberra’s status as the capital of Australia.
Canberra was chosen as the location for the nation’s capital in 1908. In 1911, a pair of architects from Chicago, Illinois, USA was awarded the responsibility to design the blueprint of the city. By 1927, the Federal Parliament sat in their new offices for the first time.
In 1911, the city residents numbered just over 1,700, quickly growing to 9,000 by 1930. By 1971, the population first reached over 100,000. In 2000, the population reached over 300,000, and it continues to grow.
| City | 2026 Pop. ↓ | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 4,976,762 | 1.13% |
| Melbourne | 4,928,443 | 1.41% |
| Brisbane | 2,484,138 | 1.61% |
| Perth | 2,218,366 | 1.6% |
| Adelaide | 1,299,185 | 0.84% |
| Gold Coast | 741,661 | 1.93% |
| Canberra | 523,285 | 1.28% |
| Newcastle | 361,877 | 0.74% |
| Central Coast | 343,965 | 1.1% |
| Sunshine Coast | 313,811 | 1.93% |
| Wollongong | 292,054 | 0.82% |
| Hobart | 205,884 | 0.83% |
| Geelong | 190,619 | 1.1% |
| Townsville | 186,562 | 1.4% |
| Cairns | 163,376 | 1.26% |
| Darwin | 130,746 | 1.32% |
| Ballarat | 113,156 | 1.4% |
| Toowoomba | 112,978 | 0.82% |
| Bendigo | 108,707 | 1.51% |
| Maitland | 97,446 | 1.64% |
