Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the population of the City of Greater Bendigo local government area increased by 1.3 per cent from 2014 to 2015, bringing it to nearly 108,500 at June 2015.

This growth was reflected in the Bendigo urban area, which saw a 1.2 per cent increase in population from 91,766 people in 2014 to 92,888 in 2015.

City of Greater Bendigo strategy manager Trevor Budge said the population of the Bendigo area was expected to grow to 200,000 by 2055 if current trends continued, with 170,000 of those people to be living in the urban area.

The population has been expanding steadily since at least 2005, when it sat at 93,269, with 6.3 per cent growth from 2011 to 2015.

The White Hills-Ascot and Strathfieldsaye communities were two of the three fastest-growing communities in regional Victoria, with increases in population of 4.6 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively.

Mr Budge said one-third of the growth in the area was natural increase, a result of births outstripping deaths.

But the remaining growth could be attributed to a number of factors, he said.

Mr Budge said the affordability of housing was attractive to some people from metropolitan areas who were looking to buy property.

Some new residents also came from smaller areas for access to jobs, education and health facilities.

He said university students were another source of new residents, acknowledging that while many left upon completion of their studies, many stayed on.

The new hospital is also expected to become a future source of growth.

But population growth brings challenges for the city, with Mr Budge citing the provision of housing, services and facilities as the main consideration.

He said the provision of a diverse range of both rental and purchase properties was a concern in meeting population growth

The new Bendigo hospital, which will be staffed by an extra 1000 people when fully operational, is also expected to have an impact.

“We expect there’s going to be some pressure on the rental market over the next couple of years,” he said.

Bendigo was not the fastest-growing area in the region in the 2014-15 period, beaten by Mitchell Shire, which recorded growth of 2 per cent, and Macedon Ranges, which saw its population increase by 1.4 per cent.

But Buloke Shire recorded negative growth, its population shrinking by 2.2 per cent.

Campaspe, Central Goldfields, Loddon, Gannawarra, Hepburn and North Grampians shires also experienced a decline in population.

Overall, the state’s population grew by 99,400 from 2014 to 2015, reaching 5.94 million in June last year, with regional areas accounting for 24 per cent of the population.

This increase of 1.7 per cent made Victoria the fastest-growing state in the country.

Australia’s population increased by 1.4 per cent, about 317,100 people, to hit 23.8 million in mid-2015.

It has since passed 24 million, reaching the figure in February this year.

Greater Melbourne’s increase of 2.1 per cent was the most of any capital city in Australia, with the city seeing an extra 91,600 people added to its population.

This accounted for 92 per cent of Victoria’s total growth from 2014 to 2015.