Approximately 3 billion people live within 200 kilometres of a coast. More than 8 in 10 Australians (85%) lived within 50 kilometres of the coastline of Australia, up slightly from 1996 (83%) People living near the coast live in capital cities as seven of these are situated on the coast. However, there has been rapid growth of coastal areas outside of Australia’s capital cities.
Australia’s population lives in coastal towns or cities — more than 25 per cent live within three kilometres of the coast. In fact, all urban settlements with populations of more than 500 000 are located on the coastal fringe of the continent. As well as being a popular place to live, the coast is a major tourist destination. For example, the number of visitors to Queensland’s Gold Coast in the year ending March 2005 was 3 601 000 — an average of 84 555 visitors daily
Australia’s population lives in coastal towns or cities — more than 25 per cent live within three kilometres of the coast. In fact, all urban settlements with populations of more than 500 000 are located on the coastal fringe of the continent. As well as being a popular place to live, the coast is a major tourist destination. For example, the number of visitors to Queensland’s Gold Coast in the year ending March 2005 was 3 601 000 — an average of 84 555 visitors daily
A total of a billion people worldwide now live within 20 metres of mean sea level on land measuring about 8 million square kilometres. This is roughly equivalent to the area of Brazil. These figures alone illustrate how disastrous the loss of the coastal areas would be.
- The economic value (gross domestic product, GDP) of the flood-prone area;
- Extent of urban settlements;
- Extent of agricultural land;
- Number of jobs;
- Area/extent of coastal wetlands which could act as a flood buffer.