The Rural Riverina and the Urban Perth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Rural Riverina and the Urban Perth - Essay Example In 2005 when Wagga Wagga region of Riverina projected a population of 58,055 ranking 29th in the list of populated cities in Australia (Wagga Wagga 2007), the Perth region ranked 4th with a population of 1,477,800 and a population density of 274.4 per sq. km in the same year (Perth 2007). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the Perth metropolitan area alone accounted for around 73% of Western Australia's population (Department of Local Government 2005). In Perth people over the age of 65+ were found to be the fastest growing age group in 1996-2001 (Department of Local Government 2005). Considerable growth was also observed in the 0-14 year age group during the same inter-census period (Department of Local Government 2005). The picture was just a bit different in the Riverina region where a steady rise in the number of people in the age group of 30+ mostly paved the way for growth in the region (Riverina Regional Development Board n.d.a). The fall in the population of the younger age groups mainly below 30 was overcome to a certain extent by the consistent rise in the older demographics (Riverina Regional Development Board n.d.a). In ... Age-wise population distribution of Percentage of Residents in 0-14 and 65+Riverina and New South Wales (2001) Age Cohorts in Perth Years 0-14 65+ 1996 21.5 10.8 2001 20.6 11.2 (Riverina Regional Development Board n.d.a) (Department of Local Government 2005) From the above assorted forms of data, the age-wise population of Riverina and Perth may be roughly illustrated from the following: Age-wise population distribution in Perth and Riverina in 2001 In Griffith region of Riverina where the 0-14 year age group reflected the maximum contribution to total growth, the 15-64 year age group chiefly signifying the working age population continued to grow considerably (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005a). Ethnicity and Religious Affiliations Both Riverina and Perth share common religious affiliations. Christianity was found to be the most commonly reported religion. Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Salvation Army, Churches of Christ, Uniting Church and other divisions of Christianity revealed to be predominant followed with Buddhism and small percentage of Islam, Hinduism and Judaism in Perth (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1994) as well as Riverina along with all the other regions of New South Wales (Community Relations Commission n.d.). Around 56% of youth population in Perth was found to be Christians, 2.9% were affiliated with Buddhism whereas 24% of them had no religious affiliations at all (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005c). Indigenous and non-indigenous sites of Cultural significance Both the Riverina and the Perth regions exhibit some of Australia's richest cultural heritage. When compared, it becomes extremely difficult to rank the two regions in order of their cultural