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THE Wimmera’s overall population has steadily declined for at least 15 years.
While some areas – including Horsham Rural City – have experienced consistent growth in each Census since 2001, population figures for most of the shires in our region have either stagnated since 2001, or slowly dwindled.
Census data shows Horsham’s population has grown by about 1900 people since 2001. Ararat Rural City’s population grew between 2001 and 2006 before declining in the five years to 2011.
However the rural city’s population increased considerably between 2011 and 2016. At the time of the latest Census last year, Ararat had 11,606 residents, about 500 more than in 2001.
Raw figures show Northern Grampians Shire’s resident numbers have decreased by more than any other municipality.
But in percentage terms, Yarriambiack Shire’s population has decreased the most since 2001, by about 14 per cent.
Overall, there were 1760 fewer residents across the seven municipalities in 2016 compared with 2001.