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Population | Local Government Authorities | Employment & Industry | For More Information
The WA Country Health Service (WACHS) covers 2,525,306 square kilometres of Western Australia (WA) and extends from the Kimberley region in the north to the Great Southern region in the south, and the Indian Ocean in the west to the Northern Territory and South Australian borders in the east.
Population
The population in 2003 for the WACHS catchment area was 315,679 representing 16.2% of the State’s population. This was an increase from 276,123 in 1981 and represents an average increase of 1,798 persons per year. The number of Aboriginal people in 2003 was 41,603 representing 13.2% of the WACHS population.
The WACHS has a higher percentage of children aged between 0-14 and a lower proportion of people aged 65 years and over, compared with the rest of WA.
In 2003 there were 45,944 people (14.6%) residing in the WACHS catchment area who were not born in Australia, and 19,437 (6.2%) who do not speak English at home.
Table: Age distributions of the WACHS - Total Population
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Total Population
|
| Area |
2003
Population
Percentage |
2003 Resident
Population |
2006 Resident Population
Projections |
2011 Resident
Population
Projections |
| Kimberley |
11.2 |
35,238 |
34,223 |
37,067 |
Pilbara Gascoyne
|
15.5 |
48,959 |
55,227 |
57,696 |
| Midwest Murchison |
15.9
|
50,064 |
57,682 |
60,439 |
| Goldfields South East |
17.1 |
54,039 |
68,850 |
74,63 |
| Great Southern |
17.2
|
54,276 |
56,088 |
59,286 |
| Wheatbelt |
23.1 |
73,103 |
79,466 |
86,734 |
| WACHS TOTAL |
100 |
315,679 |
351,536 |
375,859 |
Source: Health Information Centre, Epidemiological and Analytical Services.
Local Government Authorities
The WACHS catchment comprises 100 local government authorities.
Employment & Industry
The major industries that provide rural employment are agriculture, forestry or fishing (15.7%), mining (10.3%), retail (11.5%), health and community service (7.0%), education (6.9%), construction (7.3%), manufacturing (5.5%), and hospitality (5.0%). Other employment industries include cultural and recreational, transport, communications, essential services, finance and insurance and property or small business. Tourism is a growing industry in Western Australia due to the attractions of climate, natural environment, and recreational opportunities.
For More Information
» Australian Bureau of Statistics
» Tourism Western Australia
» Department of Local Government and Regional Development
» Western Australian Local Government Association
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