The Gold Coast region has been the fastest growing region in Australia for the last four decades.  In the north it adjoins the Brisbane metropolitan area and includes the rapidly growing Tweed Coast on the New South Wales border.

Gold Coast Statistical District Population Growth

 
Census                           1976               1986                1996              2006      

Gold Coast                108,355         193,383          334,826         513,916      
Tweed Heads             13,190            26,075            41,030           51,789     

The urban area of the Gold Coast region is confusing as it extends across four Local Authorities and two States.  In 1976 the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) created the Gold Coast Statistical District (GCSD) to enable it to monitor the size and growth of the region as a whole.  The boundaries of the GCSD are Beenleigh in the north, Mt Tamborine in the west, and down to Cabarita Beach (NSW) in the south.

Midwood Report estimates the total Census count population of the Gold Coast Statistical District to be approximately 627,500 in February 2010, rising to 649,000 at the Census in 2011.

Source:  Midwood Report, February Quarter 2010