People Tasmania Tasmania’s present population is 470,216. The majority of Tasmanians live in in or around the major population centers: 194,166 in the greater Hobart area, 98,160 in the greater Launceston area, and 78,147 in the Burnie-Devonport region. Although births (5909) exceeded deaths (3557) in the year of these statistics, Tasmania’s population is currently declining due to emigration.
The great majority of Tasmanians are Caucasian, and mainly British descent at that. As a general rule, Tasmania has been less influenced by twentieth century migration that the mainland of Australia due to it’s relative isolation. Residents of other states are occasionally liable to make disparaging jokes in this regard, which intimate at the relatively intertwined lineage of many Tasmanian families. Nevertheless Tasmania has received waves of immigration in the past, especially post-WWII immigrants of Eastern Europe who were attracted for labour on the hydroelectric schemes then under commission.
As may occur with many small and established regions, Tasmania has developed it’s own internal rivalries. Residents of the South may pride themselves on living in the earlier settled regions of the state, and having Hobart as the state’s capital and largest city. Northern residents will claim that theirs is the more economically productive region of the state, and note that these areas were not originally established as centerers for incarceration of England’s criminals. Such parochial rivalries are played out by snobbery between the main centerers of Hobart and Launceston, patronage of different newspapers or TV stations, and the contest of differing sporting teams in sports such as Australian-Rules Football.
By national standards Tasmania is not a wealthy state, and the last decade has, if anything, exacerbated this disparity, Tasmania suffers from high levels of unemployment and an overall declining population. However, the cost of living is also lower in Tasmania, especially housing costs (petrol and other imports can be more expensive). Tasmania does not lack for a wealthy class, from established fortunes - some dating back to landed gentry of colonial days - to chiefs of industry or government, and new entrepreneurs and professionals. On the other hand, there are many communities, suburbs of the larger cities and especially some isolated towns in rural areas, that are face particular hardships due to recent closures of some large industries. Nevertheless, as a whole the Tasmanian community is known to be welcoming and supportive, and travelers are sure to find assistance and friendship wherever they choose to go.
