Darwin population: how many people live in Darwin?

Greater Darwin added 2,719 people, or 1.74 per cent, over the 2024-25 financial year. The ABS capital city data rounds the growth rate to 1.7 per cent, while the Northern Territory summary rounds the increase to 2,700 people. The growth rate was the fourth fastest of the eight capital cities, behind Perth's 2.43 per cent, Brisbane's 2.10 per cent and Melbourne's 1.97 per cent, and ahead of Sydney's 1.35 per cent².

Annual population growth over the 24 financial years from 2001-02 to 2024-25 ranged from a 0.69 per cent fall in 2018-19 to a 4.03 per cent increase in 2012-13. The population fell in three of those years, by 246 people in 2002-03, 479 in 2017-18 and 1,022 in 2018-19. No other capital recorded more than one fall over the same period. Sydney and Melbourne each fell once, in 2020-21, and the other five capitals grew in every year².

The fastest year was 2012-13, when the city added 5,366 people (4.03 per cent), the largest increase and the highest rate over the period. Growth resumed slowly after the 2018-19 fall, at 422 people in 2019-20 and 298 in 2020-21, before annual increases ranged from 2,284 to 3,244 people a year over the four years to 2024-25².

Berrimah had Darwin's fastest population growth in 2024-25, increasing by 527 people, or 22.5 per cent. The ABS identifies Berrimah, Palmerston - South and Darwin City as the Northern Territory areas with the largest population growth in the year, with rounded increases of about 530, 340 and 320 people. Berrimah grew from 2,344 to 2,871 people, an increase of 527 (22.5 per cent), while Palmerston - South grew from 8,726 to 9,070 and Darwin City from 8,273 to 8,597. Both Palmerston - South and Darwin City grew by 3.9 per cent⁴. Berrimah's rate was the second highest of any area in Australia with at least 1,000 people at June 2024, behind Port Melbourne Industrial's 22.6 per cent¹.

The three areas also recorded the largest gains in different components of population change. Berrimah had the largest net internal migration gain of any local area in the territory, at 479 people, Darwin City had the largest net overseas migration gain, at 430, and Palmerston - South had the largest natural increase, at 154⁴.

Every broad region of the city grew over 2024-25. Darwin Suburbs added 864 people and Darwin City added 786, the two largest increases across Greater Darwin. Darwin City had the highest growth rate, at 2.60 per cent. Palmerston added 581 people and Litchfield added 488². The city's centre of population was in Wishart, south of the Stuart Highway, at June 2025, and moved little over the year, with growth relatively even across the city¹.

Darwin was the smallest of the eight capital city populations at 30 June 2025, with 159,284 people. The seven larger capitals were Sydney at 5,638,830, Melbourne at 5,435,590, Brisbane at 2,833,524, Perth at 2,452,765, Adelaide at 1,491,015, Canberra at 484,630 and Hobart at 255,250².

The growth rankings differed from the size rankings in 2024-25. Melbourne recorded the largest increase of the eight capitals, at 105,030 people, followed by Sydney's 75,230, Brisbane's 58,223 and Perth's 58,088. Darwin's increase of 2,719 people was the second smallest, ahead of Hobart's 542, but its growth rate of 1.74 per cent was the fourth fastest, behind Perth at 2.43 per cent, Brisbane at 2.10 per cent and Melbourne at 1.97 per cent¹.

The eight capitals together had 18,750,888 people at 30 June 2025, after adding 324,679 people, or 1.8 per cent, over the year. Greater Darwin accounted for 0.8 per cent of the combined capital population¹.

Hobart's population data is covered in the Hobart population article.