Population
Estimated Resident Population
About this topic
Estimated Resident Population (ERP) is the Australian Bureau of Statistics' official measure of the usually resident population for an area. It updates Census counts using births, deaths and migration, so it is the preferred time-series population measure for annual trend analysis.
This page shows annual total ERP for persons in the selected local government area only. Benchmark lines, suburb views and sex splits are intentionally out of scope for this first release.
Related topics
Key insight
Between 2023 and 2024, the estimated resident population of Cairns (R) grew by 2,707 people (1.5%) to 178,104.
Section overview
Annual ERP trend
Annual total estimated resident population for Cairns (R) from 2001 to 2024.
This view is LGA-only and tracks annual ERP for persons. It is designed for long-run population trend analysis rather than benchmark comparison or suburb-level detail.
Chart view
Annual ERP trend
Annual total estimated resident population for Cairns (R) from 2001 to 2024.
Data table
Annual ERP table
Annual estimated resident population for Cairns (R) from 2001 to 2024.
| Year | ERP |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 115,373 |
| 2002 | 117,266 |
| 2003 | 120,286 |
| 2004 | 123,392 |
| 2005 | 127,336 |
| 2006 | 131,843 |
| 2007 | 136,251 |
| 2008 | 141,403 |
| 2009 | 145,962 |
| 2010 | 148,943 |
| 2011 | 150,992 |
| 2012 | 154,041 |
| 2013 | 156,764 |
| 2014 | 158,574 |
| 2015 | 159,944 |
| 2016 | 161,573 |
| 2017 | 163,806 |
| 2018 | 165,716 |
| 2019 | 167,149 |
| 2020 | 168,710 |
| 2021 | 169,250 |
| 2022 | 171,985 |
| 2023 | 175,397 |
| 2024 | 178,104 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Estimated Resident Population (ERP). Compiled by Geografia.