Actual value and historical data chart for Australia Population Density People Per Sq Km

Australia Population Density: Inhabitants per sq km data was reported at 3.380 Person in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.340 Person for 2021. Australia Population Density: Inhabitants per sq km data is updated yearly, averaging 2.660 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2022, with 33 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.380 Person in 2022 and a record low of 2.220 Person in 1990. Australia Population Density: Inhabitants per sq km data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.OECD.GGI: Social: Demography: OECD Member: Annual.

Historical dataset showing Australia population density by year from 1961 to 2022.

View yearly updates and historical trends for Australia Population Density. Source: World Bank. Track economic data with YCharts analytics.

The ABS Australian population grid 2023 was created using 2023 Estimated Residential Population (ERP) data at the SA1 level. The SA1 level ERP data was then modelled down to a 1km x 1km grid across geographic Australia using various point layers that represent population. The value of each grid cell represents the population density (number of people per square kilometre) in that 1km x 1km cell. This is modelled data and caution must be used in its interpretation, as the population has NOT been measured at the 1km cell level. SA1s are defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3 (2021) and the grid used is based on the National Nested Grid Standard.Data and geography notes:Source data publication: Regional population, 2022-23Geographic boundary information: Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1)(2021) - Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3, National Nested Grid StandardAdditional data inputs: ABS Address Register, Indigenous Community Points (ICP)Further information: Regional population methodologySource: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) www.abs.gov.auProcessing steps:A subset of the Address Register was created to represent residential addresses as closely as possible. Indigenous Community Points were included where no AR point existed. SA1 centroid points were included where no AR or ICP point existed within an SA1. All these layers were combined into a single point layer (Allpoints).The Allpoints layer was overlaid with the ASGS 2021 SA1 boundaries to give every point an SA1 code. Points without an SA1 code (outside all SA1 regions) were dropped.Estimated Resident Population by SA1 (ERP) was averaged across all points within each SA1.Points were converted to raster using the National Nested grid as template. Point population values falling within each raster cell were summed.

The Australian Population Grid 2022 was created using estimated residential population (ERP) data for Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1). The SA1 level ERP data was then modelled down to a 1km x 1km grid across geographic Australia using various point layers that represent population. The value of each grid cell represents the population density (number of people per square kilometre) in that 1km x 1km cell. This is modelled data and caution must be used in its interpretation, as the population has NOT been measured at the 1km cell level. SA1s are defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3 (2021) and the grid used is based on the National Nested Grid Standard.Data and geography notes: Source data publication: Regional population, 2022Geographic boundary information: Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1) - Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3, National Nested Grid StandardAdditional data inputs: ABS Address Register, Indigenous Community Points (ICP)Further information: Regional population methodologySource: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) www.abs.gov.auProcessing step:1) A subset of the Address Register that represented residential addresses as closely as possible was made. ICP points were included where no AR point existed.SA1 centroid points were included where no AR or ICP point existed within an SA1. All these layers were combined into a single point layer (Allpoints). 2) The Allpoints layer was overlaid with the ASGS 2021 SA1 boundaries to give every point an SA1 code. Points without an SA1 code (outside all SA1 regions) were dropped. 3) Estimated Resident Population by SA1 (ERP) was averaged across all points within each SA1. 4) Points were converted to raster, using the National Nested grid as template. Point population values falling within each raster cell were summed.

This data set contains the Australian Bureau of Statistics population data for Australian states and territories. Population data was collected as part of national census’ in 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011. Data presented is the total population for all collection districts by place of enumeration. District Boundaries differed for each census and therefore were re-projected onto the 2011 population mesh blocks to standardise the spatial extent of the reporting areas. Given the focus of this project, population data was clipped by a 50km coastal buffer.

Note: population data for census’ 1991 – 1996 - 2001 was purchased by NESP and is made publically available through by NESP

Note: population data for 2006 and 2011 was downloaded through the ABS webportal. http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/tablebuilder?opendocument&navpos=240

Note. 2006 Census district boundaries were downloaded from the ABS website http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2919.0.55.001Main+Features1Aug%202006?OpenDocument and 2011 population mesh blocks http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/1270.0.55.001

This data contains geographical information in shape files that represent the population density in Australia, from 1991 to 2011. The data contains the summary polygon, state_code, cd_code19, 91_pop_dat (population count), area and density (in persons per km^2). For other data sets the count will be 96_pop_dat, 2001_pop_dat, 2006_pop_dat and 2011_pop_dat.

In June 2022, it was estimated that around 7.3 percent of Australians were aged between 25 and 29, and the same applied to people aged between 30 and 34. All in all, about 55 percent of Australia’s population was aged 35 years or older as of June 2022. At the same time, the age distribution of the country also shows that the share of children under 14 years old was still higher than that of people over 65 years old. A breakdown of Australia’s population growth Australia is the sixth-largest country in the world, yet with a population of around 26 million inhabitants, it is only sparsely populated. Since the 1970s, the population growth of Australia has remained fairly constant. While there was a slight rise in the Australian death rate in 2022, the birth rate of the country decreased after a slight rise in the previous year. The fact that the birth rate is almost double the size of its death rate gives the country one of the highest natural population growth rates of any high-income country.
National distribution of the population Australia’s population is expected to surpass 28 million people by 2028. The majority of its inhabitants live in the major cities. The most populated states are New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. Together, they account for over 75 percent of the population in Australia.

Census data reveals that population density varies noticeably from area to area. Small area census data do a better job depicting where the crowded neighborhoods are. In this map, the yellow areas of highest density range from 30,000 to 150,000 persons per square kilometer. In those areas, if the people were spread out evenly across the area, there would be just 4 to 9 meters between them. Very high density areas exceed 7,000 persons per square kilometer. High density areas exceed 5,200 persons per square kilometer. The last categories break at 3,330 persons per square kilometer, and 1,500 persons per square kilometer.This dataset is comprised of multiple sources. All of the demographic data are from Michael Bauer Research with the exception of the following countries:Australia: Esri Australia and MapData ServicesCanada: Esri Canada and EnvironicsFrance: Esri FranceGermany: Esri Germany and NexigaIndia: Esri India and IndicusJapan: Esri JapanSouth Korea: Esri Korea and OPENmateSpain: Esri España and AISUnited States: Esri Demographics

The Census 2021 Usual Residents Population Density for SA2 data.sourced from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/socio-economic-indexes-areas-seifa-australia/latest-release

This dataset presents data on population and people available from the ABS Data by Region statistics. This release of Data by Region presents various data for 2011-2019 and Census of Population and Housing data for 2011 and 2016 and is based on the Statistical Area 4 (SA4) 2016 boundaries. The dataset includes information in the following specified areas of population and people: Estimated Resident Population, Working Age Population, Median Age, Births and Deaths, Population Density, Internal and Overseas Migration, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Overseas Born Proportion, Religious Affiliation and Speaks language other than English.

Data by Region contains a standard set of data for each region type, depending on the availability of statistics for particular geographies. Data are sourced from a wide variety of collections, both ABS and non-ABS. When analysing these statistics, care needs to be taken as time periods, definitions, methodologies, scope and coverage can differ across collections. Where available, data have been presented as a time series - to enable users to assess changes over time. However, when looked at on a period to period basis, some series may sometimes appear volatile. When analysing the data, users are encouraged to consider the longer term behaviour of the series, where this extra information is available.

For more information please visit the Explanatory Notes.

AURIN has made the following changes to the original data:

• Spatially enabled the original data with the ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) SA4 2016 dataset.

• Some data values in Data by Region have been randomly adjusted or suppressed to avoid the release of confidential details.

• Where data was not available, not available for publication, nil or rounded to zero in the original data, it has been set to null.

• Columns and rows that did not contain any values in the original data have been removed.

It should be noted that this data is now somwhat dated!

Human population density is a surrogate indicator of the extent of human pressures on the surrounding landscapes.

Areas with high population density are associated with higher levels of stream pollution and water diversion through sewers and drains. City and urban environments are substantially changed from their pre-European condition but a changed condition is not of itself necessarily poor by societal standards. It is the impacts such as polluted run-off to waterways, air pollution, sewage disposal, household water use and predation of wildlife by pets that confer impacts on catchment condition. Human population centres have an impact well beyond the built environment.

The impact of major population centres is well expressed in the AWRC map, but is best displayed in the 500 map. The main areas of impact are the major coastal and capital cities and suburbs, including popular beachside tourist destinations. Elsewhere, the impact of population density appears to be confined to the Murray and other major river valleys.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics compiles population statistics by sampling statistical local areas (SLAas) through the national census. These data can be converted to a per catchment basis.

Interpretation of the indicator is largely unequivocal, although there are land-uses/activities (e.g. mining) where population density is not a good indicator of the degree of habitat decline. This indicator has not been validated relative to habitat decline. This indicator is easy to understand.

Data are available as:

• continental maps at 5km (0.05 deg) cell resolution for the ILZ;
• spatial averages over CRES defined catchments (CRES, 2000) in the ILZ;
• spatial averages over the AWRC river basins in the ILZ.

See further metadata for more detail.

NEXIS (National Exposure Information System) Residential Population Density web service is a set of five raster layers, representing the density of people across Australia at different scales and resolution.

Comprehensive socio-economic dataset for Australia including population demographics, economic indicators, geographic data, and social statistics. This dataset covers key metrics such as GDP, population density, area, capital city, and regional classifications.

Since the 1960s, Australia's urbanization rate has consistently been above 80 percent, and in 2024 it has reached its highest ever rate at 86.75 percent. Historically, Australia has been one of the most urbanized countries in the world, due to high rates of immigration since the 20th century, which were generally to coastal, urban areas. However, despite its high urbanization rate, Australia is among the largest countries in the world; therefore its population density is among the lowest in the world.

This dataset presents data on population and people available from the ABS Data by Region statistics. This release of Data by Region presents various data for 2011-2019 and Census of Population and Housing data for 2011 and 2016 and is based on the Statistical Area 3 (SA3) 2016 boundaries. The dataset includes information in the following specified areas of population and people: Estimated Resident Population, Working Age Population, Median Age, Births and Deaths, Population Density, Internal and Overseas Migration, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Overseas Born Proportion, Religious Affiliation and Speaks language other than English.

Data by Region contains a standard set of data for each region type, depending on the availability of statistics for particular geographies. Data are sourced from a wide variety of collections, both ABS and non-ABS. When analysing these statistics, care needs to be taken as time periods, definitions, methodologies, scope and coverage can differ across collections. Where available, data have been presented as a time series - to enable users to assess changes over time. However, when looked at on a period to period basis, some series may sometimes appear volatile. When analysing the data, users are encouraged to consider the longer term behaviour of the series, where this extra information is available.

For more information please visit the Explanatory Notes.

AURIN has made the following changes to the original data:

• Spatially enabled the original data with the ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) SA3 2016 dataset.

• Some data values in Data by Region have been randomly adjusted or suppressed to avoid the release of confidential details.

• Where data was not available, not available for publication, nil or rounded to zero in the original data, it has been set to null.

• Columns and rows that did not contain any values in the original data have been removed.

13.7 (number per thousand population) in 2021.

this graph was created in R:

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driven primarily by high birth rates in developing countries and advancements in healthcare. According to the United Nations, the global population surpassed 8 billion in 2023, marking a critical milestone in human history. This growth, however, is unevenly distributed across continents and countries, leading to varied population densities and urban pressures.

Surface area and population density play vital roles in shaping the demographic and economic landscape of each country. For instance, countries with large land masses such as Russia, Canada, and Australia have low population densities despite their significant populations, as vast portions of their land are sparsely populated or uninhabitable. Conversely, nations like Bangladesh and South Korea exhibit extremely high population densities due to smaller land areas combined with large populations.

Population density, measured as the number of people per square kilometer, affects resource availability, environmental sustainability, and quality of life. High-density areas face greater challenges in housing, infrastructure, and environmental management, often experiencing increased pollution and resource strain. In contrast, low-density areas may struggle with underdeveloped infrastructure and limited access to services due to the dispersed population.

Urbanization trends are another important aspect of these dynamics. As people migrate to cities seeking better economic opportunities, urban areas grow more densely populated, amplifying the need for efficient land use and sustainable urban planning. The UN reports that over half of the world’s population currently resides in urban areas, with this figure expected to rise to nearly 70% by 2050. This shift requires nations to balance population growth and density with sustainable development strategies to ensure a higher quality of life and environmental stewardship for future generations.

Through an understanding of population size, surface area, and density, policymakers can better address challenges related to urban development, rural depopulation, and resource allocation, supporting a balanced approach to population management and economic development.

This data is associated with the paper 'Hohnen, Rosemary, Karleah Berris, Pat Hodgens, Josh Mulvaney, Brenton Florence, Brett P. Murphy, Sarah M. Legge, Chris R. Dickman, and John CZ Woinarski. 2020 "Pre-eradication assessment of feral cat density and population size across Kangaroo Island, South Australia." Wildlife Research 47, no. 8 (2020): 669-676.'This paper assesses feral cat density at nine sites (remote infra-red camera arrays) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. This dataset only includes data for six of those nine camera arrays as these were the arrays collected by the first author. These arrays are referred to in the paper as Border1, Border 2, Border3, Forest 1, Forest 2, and Farmland 1. In the dataset, there are two spreadsheets of each array 1.) the locations that cameras were deployed (referred to as xx_detector_input), and 2.) a spreadsheet describing the night each individual cat was detected at each camera site (referred to as xx_detections_input). For each array, both the respective spreadsheets are in the format that can be input into the 'secr' package in the program R to calculate density. Further information on the methods used to collect this dataset can be found in the methods section of the respective manuscript.

Urban Centres and Localities (UCLs) represent areas of concentrated urban development. They are identified using dwelling and population density criteria and data from the 2016 Census of Population and Housing. Urban Centres and Localities are designed to facilitate the visualisation and analysis of statistical data, in particular data from the Census of Population and Housing. The criteria for inclusion (such as minimum population sizes) enable users to access cross classified Census data (such as population counts by various age ranges), without limiting the usability of the associated data.Data and geography referencesSource data publication: Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 2 - Urban Centres and LocalitiesFurther information: Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 2 Significant Urban Areas, Urban Centres and Localities, Section of StateSource: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)Made possible by the Digital Atlas of AustraliaThe Digital Atlas of Australia is a key Australian Government initiative being led by Geoscience Australia, highlighted in the Data and Digital Government Strategy. It brings together trusted datasets from across government in an interactive, secure, and easy-to-use geospatial platform. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is working in partnership with Geoscience Australia to establish a set of web services to make ABS data available in the Digital Atlas of Australia.Contact the Australian Bureau of StatisticsEmail geography@abs.gov.au if you have any questions or feedback about this web service.Subscribe to get updates on ABS web services and geospatial products.Privacy at the Australian Bureau of StatisticsRead how the ABS manages personal information - ABS privacy policy.