Since the mid-1970s, Australia's population growth rate has remained fairly constant, fluctuating between one and two percent annual change in most years. Australia's crude birth rate has consistently been higher than its death rate during this time, which means that the population grows naturally and is not dependent on migration - however, Australia has historically been one of the most popular destinations for migrants, who are also responsible for a large share of this change.

Population Change: Natural Increase: South Australia data was reported at 128.000 Person in Sep 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 958.000 Person for Jun 2024. Population Change: Natural Increase: South Australia data is updated quarterly, averaging 1,756.500 Person from Jun 1981 (Median) to Sep 2024, with 174 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,801.000 Person in Mar 1984 and a record low of 128.000 Person in Sep 2024. Population Change: Natural Increase: South Australia 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.G003: Population Change.

Population growth (annual %) in Australia was reported at 2.05 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Australia Population Change: Change Over Previous Quarter data was reported at 115,027.000 Person in Sep 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 85,555.000 Person for Jun 2024. Australia Population Change: Change Over Previous Quarter data is updated quarterly, averaging 65,272.000 Person from Sep 1981 (Median) to Sep 2024, with 173 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 194,017.000 Person in Mar 2023 and a record low of -15,907.000 Person in Sep 2020. Australia Population Change: Change Over Previous Quarter 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.G003: Population Change.

Urban population growth (annual %) in Australia was reported at 2.5965 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Urban population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

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.

Total current population for Australia in 2025 is 26,958,054, a 0.97% increase from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Total population for Australia in 2024 was <strong>26,699,482</strong>, a <strong>0.15% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Total population for Australia in 2023 was <strong>26,658,948</strong>, a <strong>2.48% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Total population for Australia in 2022 was <strong>26,014,399</strong>, a <strong>1.28% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

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.

australia - Population Growth for Australia was 2.44747 % Chg. at Annual Rate in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, australia - Population Growth for Australia reached a record high of 2.44747 in January of 2023 and a record low of 0.14090 in January of 2021. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for australia - Population Growth for Australia - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Population Change: Net Overseas Migration: Western Australia data was reported at 11,564.000 Person in Sep 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 7,957.000 Person for Jun 2024. Population Change: Net Overseas Migration: Western Australia data is updated quarterly, averaging 3,972.000 Person from Jun 1981 (Median) to Sep 2024, with 174 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20,995.000 Person in Mar 2023 and a record low of -2,317.000 Person in Sep 2020. Population Change: Net Overseas Migration: Western Australia 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.G003: Population Change.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for Australia (SPPOPGROWAUS) from 1961 to 2024 about Australia, population, and rate.

Australia Population Change: Natural Increase: Queensland data was reported at 4,469.000 Person in Sep 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5,533.000 Person for Jun 2024. Australia Population Change: Natural Increase: Queensland data is updated quarterly, averaging 6,616.000 Person from Jun 1981 (Median) to Sep 2024, with 174 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10,084.000 Person in Mar 2012 and a record low of 4,405.000 Person in Dec 2023. Australia Population Change: Natural Increase: Queensland 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.G003: Population Change.

Australia Population: Growth data was reported at 2.371 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.273 % for 2022. Australia Population: Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 1.447 % from Dec 1961 (Median) to 2023, with 63 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.380 % in 1971 and a record low of 0.141 % in 2021. Australia Population: Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.;Derived from total population. Population source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2022 Revision, (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.;Weighted average;

Australia Population Change: Natural Increase: Northern Territory data was reported at 530.000 Person in Sep 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 593.000 Person for Jun 2024. Australia Population Change: Natural Increase: Northern Territory data is updated quarterly, averaging 686.000 Person from Jun 1981 (Median) to Sep 2024, with 174 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 858.000 Person in Jun 2012 and a record low of 365.000 Person in Dec 2023. Australia Population Change: Natural Increase: Northern Territory 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.G003: Population Change.

In a survey conducted in 2024 about the Australian public's view on climate change, ** percent of respondents claimed that they were concerned about more droughts and flooding affecting crop production and food supply. Additionally, ** percent of respondents stated that they were concerned about more bushfires in the country. Consequences of global warming in Australia The consequences of climate change have already affected many regions on a global scale, but Australia is experiencing especially adverse impacts. As the driest inhabited continent on earth, climate change increases the risk of extremely high temperatures, droughts, and bushfires every year. The highest temperatures recorded in Australia as of 2022 exceeded ** degrees Celsius in many locations in the country. This leads to significant impacts on not only wildlife and flora but also on livelihoods in Australia. The estimated change in GDP from unmitigated climate change was forecast to have negative economic ramifications for Australia. Public view on climate change Due to the tangible impacts of global climate change, it is not surprising that the majority of the public perceives global warming in Australia as a pressing and serious problem, which has to be addressed sooner rather than later. Around ** percent of Australians stated that the Australian government’s actions on climate change are not sufficient against the impact global warming has on the country. Still highly dependent on fossil fuels, the energy sector is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in Australia. Almost ** percent of the Australian public claimed that climate adaptation funding should be paid by fossil fuel producers. This would also lessen the burden for taxpayers on the funding of climate change adaptation.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Perth, Australia metro area from 1950 to 2025.

This dataset contains estimates of the resident population and estimates of the components of population change as at 30 June for the years 2001-2019. The data is aggregated to the 2019 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Local Government Areas (LGA). 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. Estimated resident population is 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. This data is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (Catalogue Number: 3218.0). For more information please visit the Explanatory Notes.

Contains latest available estimates of the resident populations of areas of Australia as at 30 June in each year . These estimates are provided for Statistical Areas Level 2 - 4 (SA2s - SA4s), Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs), and states and territories of Australia according to the current edition of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

Estimates are also provided for Local Government Areas (LGAs), Significant Urban Areas, Remoteness Areas, and Commonwealth and State Electoral Divisions.

A survey on the perception of climate change among the Australian public carried out in 2023 showed that ** percent of the respondents believed that climate change was occurring. This figure represents a substantial increase in the proportion of individuals who held this opinion compared to the results obtained in 2013. Climate change in Australia Australia has seen significant changes in its climate patterns over recent years. In 2023, the observed mean temperature in Australia was **** degrees Celsius. The frequency of hot days and heatwaves has increased, and the duration and severity of droughts have also intensified, leading to water shortages and wildfires. Australia is already the driest inhabited continent globally, with over 70 percent of its land classified as arid or semi-arid. The total volume of rainfall across Australia has declined in recent years. These changes have had significant impacts on Australia's ecosystems, including coral reefs and forests, as well as on its economy, such as agriculture and tourism. Public perception of climate change The public perception of climate change in Australia has been a topic of concern lately. According to a survey on the top concerns of young people in Australia, around a ******* were concerned about climate change. Another survey conducted about the willingness to spend money on climate change prevention showed that ** percent of respondents were willing to spend between 100 and 500 Australian dollars to stop climate change. However, ** percent of the survey participants said they would not be ready to pay any money at all. These figures suggest that many Australians acknowledge the reality of climate change and its human-caused nature. Nevertheless, there are still some individuals who deny or are unsure about the issue, which highlights the need for continued education and public awareness efforts.

Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates of historic annual population growth, 1860-2015. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/6CBA90A25BAC951DCA257F7F001CC559?opendocumentShow full descriptionAustralian Bureau of Statistics estimates of historic annual population growth, 1860-2015. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/6CBA90A25BAC951DCA257F7F001CC559?opendocument Figure DRV2 in Drivers report. https://soe.environment.gov.au/theme/drivers/topic/population-driver-environmental-change#Figure_DRV2