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.

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.

The total population in Australia was estimated at 27.0 million people in 2023, 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.

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, …Show full descriptionQuarterly 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.

Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) in Australia was reported at 18.03 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Population ages 0-14 (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March 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.

Australia Population Density: People per Square Km data was reported at 3.382 Person/sq km in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.339 Person/sq km for 2021. Australia Population Density: People per Square Km data is updated yearly, averaging 2.263 Person/sq km from Dec 1961 (Median) to 2022, with 62 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.382 Person/sq km in 2022 and a record low of 1.365 Person/sq km in 1961. Australia Population Density: People per Square Km 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. Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.;Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank population estimates.;Weighted average;

This dataset contains estimates of the resident population and estimates of the components of population change as at 30 June for the years 2001-2021. The data is aggregated to the 2021 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Local Government Areas (LGA).

This data is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (Catalogue Number: 3218.0).

For more information please visit the Regional population methodology.

Notes: The population estimates in this issue are final for 2001 to 2016, revised for 2017 to 2020, and preliminary for 2021. 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.

AURIN has ingested this dataset in its GeoPackage format.

Graph and download economic data for Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Working-Age Population Total: From 25 to 54 Years for Australia (LFWA25TTAUQ647S) from Q2 1978 to Q4 2024 about 25 to 54 years, working-age, Australia, and population.

Population ages 55-59, female (% of female population) in Australia was reported at 5.8814 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Population ages 55-59, female (% of female population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2025.

Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) in Australia was reported at 61.31 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2025.

Civilian Population: Married: 15 Years & Over: Female: 35-44 Years data was reported at 1,489.116 Person th in Jan 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,499.149 Person th for Dec 2024. Civilian Population: Married: 15 Years & Over: Female: 35-44 Years data is updated monthly, averaging 1,105.174 Person th from Feb 1978 (Median) to Jan 2025, with 564 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,499.149 Person th in Dec 2024 and a record low of 686.817 Person th in Apr 1978. Civilian Population: Married: 15 Years & Over: Female: 35-44 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.

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.

Population ages 15-64, male (% of male population) in Australia was reported at 64.97 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Population ages 15-64, male (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2025.

As of 2021, Millennials and Baby Boomers made up an equal share of the Australian population at around 21.5 percent each, making them the largest generational groups at the time. Those aged 75 years and over made up the smallest portion of the population, followed by Gen Alpha, or those aged 0 to 9 years at the time.

The estimated resident population (ERP) is the official measure of the Australian population. This dataset contains annual ERP by country of birth, age and sex at the Australia level. At the state/territory level it is available for Census years only.

Official population projections for: • South Australia and regions for 2016 to 2041 • Local government areas (LGAs) and Statistical Areas level 2 (SA2s) for 2016 to 2036. Users should familiarise themselves with the assumptions, qualifications and background information provided on the DPTI population projections webpage at http://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/planning/population in order to choose the projection that best suits their needs. Updated every 5 years.

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.

Contains latest available estimates by age and sex of the resident populations of areas of Australia as at 30 June. 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).\r \r Estimates are also provided for Local Government Areas (LGAs).