Pilbara regional profile
Overview
The Pilbara Health Region of the WA Country Health Service covers the Pilbara Region of Western Australia. It is Western Australia's second most northern region, defined by the Indian Ocean to the west and the Northern Territory border to the east. The Kimberley region lies to its north across the Great Sandy Desert and the Pilbara's southern reaches border the Midwest and Goldfields regions.
The region covers a total area of 507,896 sq km (including offshore islands). Most of the inhabitants are located in the western third, whereas the eastern third is largely desert with few inhabitants. The Pilbara came to national and international prominence during the 1960s when the go-ahead was given to extract iron ore deposits in the region.
Today the Pilbara economy is crucial to the State, providing two of the State's largest export revenue earners - iron ore and liquefied natural gas.
More information about the Pilbara region is available on the Pilbara Development Commission website.
Towns and local government
The major population centres of the Pilbara region are Karratha, Port Hedland, Newman and Tom Price.
| Major centres | Population by LGA (2023 ERP) | Distance from Perth |
|---|---|---|
| Karratha | 24,237 | 1538 km |
| Port Hedland | 17,247 | 1702 km |
| Ashburton | 8,076 | 1462 km (to Tom Price) |
| East Pilbara | 10,401 |
The population figures relate to Estimated Resident Population (ERP) in 2023 for the Local Government Areas (LGA). Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics ERP 2023.
The region consists of the following local government areas:
Health profiles
Please download the Pilbara's Health Profile from the site Publications page.