page_title: Australian Capital Territory
section_title: Demographics
hierarchical_section_title: Australian Capital Territory / Demographics
context_page_description: The Australian Capital Territory, known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is a federal territory of Australia containing the Australian capital city of Canberra and some surrounding townships. It is located in the south-east of the country and is an enclave within the state of New South Wales. Founded after Federation as the seat of government for the new nation, all important institutions of the Australian Government are headquartered in the territory.
  On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies of Australia was achieved. Section 125 of the new Australian Constitution provided that land, situated in New South Wales and at least 100 miles from Sydney, would be ceded to the new federal government. Following discussion and exploration of various areas within New South Wales, the Seat of Government Act 1908 was passed in 1908 which specified a capital in the Yass-Canberra region. The territory was transferred to the federal government by New South Wales in 1911, two years prior to the capital city being founded and formally named as Canberra in 1913.
context_section_description: The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that the population of the territory was 419,200 on 31 March 2019. The population is projected to reach to approximately 700,000 by 2058.
  The overwhelming majority of the population reside in the city of Canberra.
  At the 2016 census, the median weekly income for people in the territory aged over 15 was $998 while the national average was $662.
  The average level of degree qualification in the ACT is higher than the national average. Within the ACT, 37.1% of the population hold a bachelor's degree level or above education compared to the national figure of 20%.
caption: Estimated resident population since 1981.