This statistic shows the share of ethnic groups in Australia in the total population. 33 percent of the total population of Australia are english.

Australia’s population

Australia’s ethnic diversity can be attributed to their history and location. The country’s colonization from Europeans is a significant reason for the majority of its population being Caucasian. Additionally, being that Australia is one of the most developed countries closest to Eastern Asia; its Asian population comes as no surprise.

Australia is one of the world’s most developed countries, often earning recognition as one of the world’s economical leaders. With a more recent economic boom, Australia has become an attractive country for students and workers alike, who seek an opportunity to improve their lifestyle. Over the past decade, Australia’s population has slowly increased and is expected to continue to do so over the next several years. A beautiful landscape, many work opportunities and a high quality of life helped play a role in the country’s development. In 2011, Australia was considered to have one of the highest life expectancies in the world, with the average Australian living to approximately 82 years of age.

From an employment standpoint, Australia has maintained a rather low employment rate compared to many other developed countries. After experiencing a significant jump in unemployment in 2009, primarily due to the world economic crisis, Australia has been able to remain stable and slightly increase employment year-over-year.

The total population in Australia was estimated at 27.4 million people in 2024, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. This dataset provides - Australia Population - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Civilian Population: 15 Years and Over: Male data was reported at 11,168.540 Person th in Mar 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 11,144.123 Person th for Feb 2025. Civilian Population: 15 Years and Over: Male data is updated monthly, averaging 7,509.217 Person th from Feb 1978 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 566 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11,168.540 Person th in Mar 2025 and a record low of 5,173.602 Person th in Feb 1978. Civilian Population: 15 Years and Over: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.G001: Civilian Population: by Age, Sex and Status. Civilian Population refers to all usual residents of Australia aged 15 years and over except members of the permanent defence forces, certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments customarily excluded from census and estimated population counts, overseas residents in Australia, and members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants) stationed in Australia.

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.

Quarterly estimates of total resident population for states, territories and Australia. Includes estimates of the population by sex in five-year age groups; numbers (and some rates) of births, deaths, infant deaths, interstate and overseas movements; quarterly and/or annual time series spreadsheets; projected resident population for states, territories and Australia; and projected number of households for capital cities, states territories and Australia.

Humans have been living on the continent of Australia (name derived from "Terra Australis"; Latin for "the southern land") for approximately 65,000 years, however population growth was relatively slow until the nineteenth century. Europeans had made some contact with Australia as early as 1606, however there was no significant attempt at settlement until the late eighteenth century. By 1800, the population of Australia was approximately 350,000 people, and the majority of these were Indigenous Australians. As colonization progressed the number of ethnic Europeans increased while the Australian Aboriginal population was decimated through conflict, smallpox and other diseases, with some communities being exterminated completely, such as Aboriginal Tasmanians. Mass migration from Britain and China After the loss of its American colonies in the 1780s, the British Empire looked to other parts of the globe to expand its sphere of influence. In Australia, the first colonies were established in Sydney, Tasmania and Western Australia. Many of these were penal colonies which became home to approximately 164,000 British and Irish convicts who were transported to Australia between 1788 and 1868. As the decades progressed, expansion into the interior intensified, and the entire country was claimed by Britain in 1826. Inland colonization led to further conflict between European settlers and indigenous Australians, which cost the lives of thousands of natives. Inward expansion also saw the discovery of many natural resources, and most notably led to the gold rushes of the 1850s, which attracted substantial numbers of Chinese migrants to Australia. This mass migration from non-European countries eventually led to some restrictive policies being introduced, culminating with the White Australia Policy of 1901, which cemented ethnic-European dominance in Australian politics and society. These policies were not retracted until the second half of the 1900s. Independent Australia Australia changed its status to a British dominion in 1901, and eventually became independent in 1931. Despite this, Australia has remained a part of the British Commonwealth, and Australian forces (ANZAC) fought with the British and their Allies in both World Wars, and were instrumental in campaigns such as Gallipoli in WWI, and the South West Pacific Theater in WWII. The aftermath of both wars had a significant impact on the Australian population, with approximately 90 thousand deaths in both world wars combined, as well as 15 thousand deaths as a result of the Spanish flu pandemic following WWI, although Australia experienced a significant baby boom following the Second World War. In the past fifty years, Australia has promoted immigration from all over the world, and now has one of the strongest economies and highest living standards in the world, with a population that has grown to over 25 million people in 2020.

Civilian Population: 15 Years & Over: Male: 55-59 Years data was reported at 756.112 Person th in Feb 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 755.334 Person th for Jan 2025. Civilian Population: 15 Years & Over: Male: 55-59 Years data is updated monthly, averaging 515.193 Person th from Feb 1978 (Median) to Feb 2025, with 565 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 766.126 Person th in Jun 2020 and a record low of 340.307 Person th in Feb 1978. Civilian Population: 15 Years & Over: Male: 55-59 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.G001: Civilian Population: by Age, Sex and Status.

The statistic shows the total population of Australia from 1980 to 2023, with projections up until 2030. In 2023, Australia had a total population of about 26.95 million people. Population of Australia Australia is among the ten largest countries in the world, in terms of area size, although its total population is low in relation to this. Much of Australia’s interior remains uninhabited, as the majority of Australians live in coastal metropolises and cities. Most of the population is of European descent (predominantly British), although there is a growing share of the population with Asian heritage; only a small percentage belongs to the indigenous Aboriginal population. Australia's year-on-year population growth is fairly high compared to most other economically and demographically advanced nations, due to comparatively high rates of natural increase and immigration. Living standards Standard of living is fairly high in Australia, which can be seen when looking at the Human Development Index, which ranks countries by their level of human development and living standards, such as their unemployment rate, literacy rate, or life expectancy at birth. Life expectancy of Australia’s population is quite high in international comparison, for example, Australia is also among the leading countries when it comes to this key factor. Economically speaking, Australia is also among the leading nations, with a steadily rising employment rate, an increasing gross domestic product (GDP) with a steady growth rate, and a relatively stable share in the global GDP.

Graph and download economic data for Population, Total for Australia (POPTOTAUA647NWDB) from 1960 to 2024 about Australia and population.

As of June 2024, about 13.69 million females and 13.5 million males lived in Australia. The population of both sexes has been increasing consistently with slightly more females than males.

Population ages 15-64 (% of total population) in Australia was reported at 64.43 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Population ages 15-64 (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

As of December 2023, the proportion of the Australian population that lived in New South Wales amounted to 31.3 percent. The Northern Territory had the least number of residents in the country, with less than one percent of the population residing there.

This dataset presents the preliminary estimates of the resident population by age and sex as at 30 June 2017. The data is aggregated to Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4), according to the 2016 edition of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Estimated resident population (ERP) is the official estimate of the Australian population, which links people to a place of usual residence within Australia. Usual residence within Australia refers to that address at which the person has lived or intends to live for six months or more in a given reference year. For the 30 June reference date, this refers to the calendar year around it. Estimates of the resident population are based on Census counts by place of usual residence (excluding short-term overseas visitors in Australia), with an allowance for Census net undercount, to which are added the estimated number of Australian residents temporarily overseas at the time of the Census. A person is regarded as a usual resident if they have been (or expected to be) residing in Australia for a period of 12 months or more over a 16-month period. This data is ABS data (catalogue number: 3235.0) available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. For more information please visit the Explanatory Notes.

Population, total in Australia was reported at 27204809 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Population, total - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

Civilian Population: 15 Years & Over: Male: 55-64 Years data was reported at 1,503.062 Person th in Feb 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,502.154 Person th for Jan 2025. Civilian Population: 15 Years & Over: Male: 55-64 Years data is updated monthly, averaging 928.106 Person th from Feb 1978 (Median) to Feb 2025, with 565 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,503.062 Person th in Feb 2025 and a record low of 623.515 Person th in Feb 1978. Civilian Population: 15 Years & Over: Male: 55-64 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.G001: Civilian Population: by Age, Sex and Status.

Urban population (% of total population) in Australia was reported at 86.75 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Urban population (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Population Ages 0 to 14 for Australia (SPPOP0014TOZSAUS) from 1960 to 2024 about 0 to 14 years, Australia, and population.

Australia: Percent of world population: The latest value from 2023 is 0.33 percent, unchanged from 0.33 percent in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 0.51 percent, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for Australia from 1960 to 2023 is 0.33 percent. The minimum value, 0.31 percent, was reached in 1997 while the maximum of 0.35 percent was recorded in 1962.

This dataset presents the preliminary estimates of the resident population by age and sex as at 30 June 2019. The data is aggregated to Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2), according to the 2016 edition of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Estimated resident population (ERP) is the official estimate of the Australian population, which links people to a place of usual residence within Australia. Usual residence within Australia refers to that address at which the person has lived or intends to live for six months or more in a given reference year. For the 30 June reference date, this refers to the calendar year around it. Estimates of the resident population are based on Census counts by place of usual residence (excluding short-term overseas visitors in Australia), with an allowance for Census net undercount, to which are added the estimated number of Australian residents temporarily overseas at the time of the Census. A person is regarded as a usual resident if they have been (or expected to be) residing in Australia for a period of 12 months or more over a 16-month period. This data is ABS data (catalogue number: 3235.0) available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. For more information please visit the Explanatory Notes. AURIN has spatially enabled the data. Regions which contain unpublished data have been left blank in the dataset.

Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) in Australia was reported at 18.48 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Population ages 0-14, male (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.