List of places in the Northern Territory by population explained

The Northern Territory is a self-governing territory of Australia. It has a population of 232,605 as of the 2021 Australian census, the most recent census for which data has been released, and occupies an area of .^[1] Official population statistics are published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which conducts a census every five years.^[2] The ABS publishes data for various types of geographic structures, including urban centres and localities, which represent the built-up area of cities and towns with more than 200 people, and local government areas.^[3]

Urban centres and localities by population

Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) are areas that subdivide all of Australia. SA1s generally have a population between 200 and 800 people, but this can reach as low as 180 for small towns and 90 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.^[4] Urban centres and localities (UCLs) are defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as clusters of urban SA1s. Clusters with a population higher than 1,000 are considered urban centres and clusters with a population between 200 and 999 are considered localities. The population of a locality is allowed to fall below 200 for two consecutive censuses before it is declassified as a locality.^[5]

The largest UCL within the Northern Territory is Darwin, with a population of 122,207 at the 2021 census. There are a total of 70 UCLs in the Northern Territory as of 2021, of which twelve have a population above 1,000.^[6]

Rank!scope=col rowspan="2"

Urban centre or locality	scope=colgroup colspan="6"	Population
scope=col	2011 census	scope=col class="unsortable"		scope=col	2016 census	scope=col class="unsortable"		scope=col	2021 census	scope=col class="unsortable"
1	scope=row	Darwin	103,016		118,456		122,207
2	scope=row	Alice Springs	24,208		23,726		24,855
3	scope=row	Katherine	6,094		6,303		5,980
4	scope=row	Nhulunbuy	3,933		3,088		3,267
5	scope=row	Tennant Creek	3,062		2,991		2,949
6	scope=row	Maningrida	2,293		2,308		2,518
7	scope=row	Galiwinku	2,124		2,088		2,199
8	scope=row	Wadeye	2,112		2,280		1,924
9	scope=row	Wurrumiyanga (Nguiu)	1,527		1,563		1,421
10	scope=row	Gunbalanya (Oenpelli)	1,171		1,117		1,153
11	scope=row	Milingimbi	1,081		1,225		1,097
12	scope=row	Ngukurr	1,056		1,149		1,088
13	scope=row	Angurugu	835		855		883
14	scope=row	Yulara	888		759		853
15	scope=row	Ramingining	833		872		814
16	scope=row	Jabiru	1,129		1,081		755
17	scope=row	Borroloola	926		871		755
18	scope=row	Alyangula	986		873		751
19	scope=row	Yuendumu	687		759		740
20	scope=row	Gapuwiyak	874		923		705
21	scope=row	Numbulwar	687		723		681
22	scope=row	Humpty Doo	569		678		660
23	scope=row	Yirrkala	843		809		657
24	scope=row	Lajamanu	656		598		653
25	scope=row	Minyerri	484		618		650
26	scope=row	Santa Teresa (Ltyentye Purte)	555		580		603
27	scope=row	Daguragu – Kalkarindji	542		575		575
28	scope=row	Howard Springs	612		595		569
29	scope=row	Hermannsburg	625		605		551
30	scope=row	Wugular (Beswick)	511		531		542
31	scope=row	Ampilatwatja	365		418		439
32	scope=row	Papunya	418		404		438
33	scope=row	Warruwi	423		389		432
34	scope=row	Ilparpa	433		360		424
35	scope=row	Wagait Beach – Mandorah	368		461		422
36	scope=row	Walungurru (Kintore)	454		410		420
37	scope=row	Umbakumba	441		503		419
38	scope=row	Milikapiti	447		401		414
39	scope=row	Ali Curung	535		494		394
40	scope=row	Batchelor	336		466		371
41	scope=row	Nganmarriyanga (Palumpa)	377		390		364
42	scope=row	Alpurrurulam	441		420		350
43	scope=row	Nauiyu Nambiyu (Daly River)	454		378		350
44	scope=row	Barunga	313		363		337
45	scope=row	Mataranka	244		310		327
46	scope=row	Pine Creek	380		328		318
47	scope=row	Pirlangimpi	371		371		317
48	scope=row	Mutitjulu	210		323		296
49	scope=row	Elliot	348		339		287
50	scope=row	Yarralin	266		293		283
51	scope=row	Timber Creek			249		278
52	scope=row	Minjilang	309		247		265
53	scope=row	Jilkminggan	280		301		263
54	scope=row	Bulman – Weemol	291		280		263
55	scope=row	Nyirripi	210		236		251
56	scope=row	Adelaide River	237		265		243
57	scope=row	Gunyangara			240		241
58	scope=row	Binjari	238		190		240
59	scope=row	Areyonga	235		195		236
60	scope=row	Amoonguna	275		239		229
61	scope=row	Kaltukatjara (Docker River)	295		394		229
62	scope=row	Willowra	221		301		222
63	scope=row	Atitjere			224		204
64	scope=row	Titjikala	201		227		196
65	scope=row	Aputula (Finke)			192		191
66	scope=row	Laramba	251		239		189
67	scope=row	Robinson River (Mungoorbada)	258		222		180
68	scope=row	Yuelamu	207		220		149
69	scope=row	Canteen Creek	217		184		147
70	scope=row	Wutunugurra	207		166		143

Local government areas by population

The Northern Territory is divided into 17 local government areas plus several unincorporated areas.^[7] Local government area boundaries are set by an independent local government representation review committee, which consists of the Northern Territory's electoral commissioner, surveyor-general, and the chief executive officer of the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory.^[8] The Australian Bureau of Statistics uses an approximation of these boundaries for its statistics.^[9] The largest local government area within the Northern Territory is the City of Darwin, with a population of 80,530 as of the 2021 census.^[10]

Rank! scope=col rowspan="2"

Local government area	scope=colgroup colspan="6"	Population
scope=col	2011 census	scope=col class="unsortable"		scope=col	2016 census	scope=col class="unsortable"		scope=col	2021 census	scope=col class="unsortable"
1	scope=row		72,930		78,804		80,530
2	scope=row		27,703		33,786		37,247
3	scope=row		25,186		24,753		25,912
4	scope=row	Litchfield Municipality	18,994		23,855		21,411
5	scope=row		9,187		9,717		9,643
6	scope=row	East Arnhem Region	9,098		9,026		8,778
	scope=row	Unincorporated areas	8,089		6,907		6,802
7	scope=row	Roper Gulf Region	6,121		6,505		6,486
8	scope=row	Barkly Region	6,823		6,655		6,316
9	scope=row	West Arnhem Region	6,232		6,188		6,281
10	scope=row	MacDonnell Region	5,831		6,029		5,748
11	scope=row	Central Desert Region	3,720		3,677		3,591
12	scope=row	West Daly Region			3,166		2,973
13	scope=row	Victoria Daly Region	5,924		2,810		2,815
14	scope=row	Tiwi Islands Region	2,580		2,453		2,348
15	scope=row	Coomalie Shire	1,106		1,319		1,276
16	scope=row	Wagait Shire	369		463		423
	scope=row	Darwin Waterfront Precinct					293
17	scope=row	Belyuen Shire	181		164		149

See also

• List of cities in Australia by population
• List of places in New South Wales by population
• List of places in Queensland by population
• List of places in South Australia by population
• List of places in Tasmania by population
• List of places in Victoria by population
• List of places in Western Australia by population

Notes and References

1. Web site: Area of Australia – States and Territories . 17 November 2024 . Geoscience Australia.
2. Web site: The Australian Census . 17 November 2024 . Australian Bureau of Statistics.
3. Web site: Using the ASGS . Australian Bureau of Statistics . 6 November 2024 . 20 July 2021.
4. Web site: Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) . 2 November 2024 . Australian Bureau of Statistics.
5. Web site: Design of UCL . 2 July 2021 . Australian Bureau of Statistics.
6. Web site: 2021 General Community Profile for Urban Centres and Localities (UCL): Northern Territory . Australian Bureau of Statistics . 6 November 2024.
7. Web site: Northern Territory Local Government Areas . Northern Territory Electoral Commission . 10 October 2023.
8. Web site: Local government areas . Northern Territory Electoral Commission . 2 November 2024 . 16 September 2024.
9. Web site: Local Government Areas . Australian Bureau of Statistics . 2 November 2024 . 16 October 2021.
10. Web site: 2021 General Community Profile for Local Government Areas (LGA): Northern Territory . Australian Bureau of Statistics . 6 November 2024.