The statistic shows the ten largest cities in Australia in 2021. In 2021, around 5.26 million people lived in Sydney and the surrounding area, making it the most populous city in Australia.

The statistic shows the total population of Australia from 1980 to 2021, with projections up until 2029. In 2021, Australia had a total population of about 25.77 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.

Since the 1960s, Australia's urbanization rate has consistently been above 80 percent, and in 2023 it has reached its highest ever rate at 86.62 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.

Urban Centres and Localities (UCL)

Urban Centres and Localities (UCLs) represent areas of concentrated urban development with populations of 200 people or more. These areas of urban development are primarily identified using dwelling and population density criteria using data from the 2021 Census. UCLs are not an official definition of towns.

UCLs can cross state or territory boundaries, however in these cases they are split into two parts so that data can still be aggregated to the state and territory level. For example, the UCL of Albury - Wodonga consists of Albury – Wodonga (Albury Part) and Albury – Wodonga (Wodonga Part).

Areas in a state or territory that are not included in an UCL are considered to be ‘rural’ and combined into the category: ‘Remainder of State/Territory’.

Using UCLs with Census data

UCLs are designed for the analysis of statistical data, particularly from the Census. The 200 minimum population size allows users to access cross classified Census data for these areas without the resulting counts becoming too small for use.

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Australian Bureau of Statistics (Jul2021-Jun2026), Data services and APIs, ABS Website, accessed 25 July 2023.

https://www.abs.gov.au/website-privacy-copyright-and-disclaimer#copyright-and-creative-commons

In 2023, approximately 988,943 people lived in Stockholm, making it not only the capital, but also the biggest city in Sweden. The second biggest city, Gothenburg (Göteborg) had about half as many inhabitants, with about 596,840 people. Move to the citySweden is a country with a very high urbanization rate, the likes of which is usually only seen in countries with large uninhabitable areas, such as Australia, or in nations with very little rural landscape and agrarian structures, like Cuba. So why do so few Swedes live in rural areas, even though based on total area, the country is one of the largest in Europe? The total population figures are the answer to this question, as Sweden has only about 10.3 million inhabitants as of 2018 – that’s only 25 inhabitants per square kilometer. Rural exodus or just par for the course?It is no mystery why most Swedes flock to the cities: Jobs, of course. Over 65 percent of Sweden’s gross domestic product is generated by the services sector, and agriculture only contributes about one percent to the GDP. Employment mirrors this, with 80 percent of the workforce being deployed in services, namely in foreign trade, telecommunications, and manufacturing, among other industries.

The average life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia is just one indicator of the gap in health outcomes that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. From 2015 to 2017, the average life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island men and women in major cities in Australia was 72.1 and 76.5 years, respectively. By comparison, the non-Indigenous population lived around eight years longer on average. This divide is even more pronounced in rural and very remote areas where the life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders drops to below 70 years.

Closing the gap

Over the past decade the federal, state and territory Governments of Australia have been working toward closing the gap of inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the Closing the Gap Framework, introduced in 2008. The Framework identified seven target areas for improving the health and wellbeing outcomes of Indigenous Australians. These target areas covered early childhood, schooling, health, economic participation, healthy homes, safe communities, and governance and leadership. In 2020, school enrollment rates were steadily increasing and more Indigenous Australians were attaining a bachelor degree. As a result, the schooling target was considered to be ‘on track’ along with early childhood education participation.

More work to be done

Although two of the seven targets were ‘on track’ in 2020, the other five Closing the Gap targets were not. This indicated that Australia still has a long way to go in order to significantly reduce the gap of disadvantage faced by indigenous Australians. This is evident in the proportion of Aboriginal Australians who remain unemployed or not in the labor force and Indigenous youth incarceration rates, which have been increasing.

In 2022, an estimated 91 percent of the world population had access to at least basic drinking water services. Access was highest in Europe and North America and Australia and New Zealand, with approximately 100 percent of both regions having access to at least basic drinking water services.

Access to safe drinking water

Improved drinking water refers to a source that can be adequately protected from outside contamination, mostly by fecal matter. An improved sanitation facility keeps human waste out of reach, for example, by using a flush toilet or a septic tank. These protected sources include rainwater, protected springs, and piped water into a dwelling. Global investments in water supply infrastructure are expected to increase.

Global water inequality

In most regions of the world, 90 percent of the population has access to at least basic drinking water services. However, just 65 percent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa and 60 percent of the population in Oceania had basic access in 2022. In sub-Saharan Africa, about 16 percent of people had access to unimproved water sources and eight percent only had access to surface waters. Unimproved water sources include bottled water and tanker-trucks. Currently, eight out of ten people living in rural areas still lack even basic drinking water services. A lack of access to safe water is considered one of the top risks based on impact to global societies.