Demographics of Australia

The population of Australia is estimated to be as of . It is the 54th most populous country in the world and the most populous Oceanian country. Its population is concentrated mainly in urban areas, particularly on the Eastern, South Eastern and Southern seaboards, and is expected to exceed 30 million by 2029.
Australia's population has grown from an estimated population of between 300,000 and 2,400,000 Indigenous Australians at the time of British colonisation in 1788 due to numerous waves of immigration during the period since. Also due to immigration, the European component's share of the population rose sharply in the late 18th and 19th centuries, but is now declining as a percentage.
Australia has an average population density of persons per square kilometre of total land area, which makes it one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. This is generally attributed to the semi-arid and desert geography of much of the interior of the country. Another factor is urbanisation—with 89% of its population living in a handful of urban areas, Australia is one of the world's most urbanised countries. The life expectancy of Australia in 2015–2017 was 83.2 years, among the highest in the world.

Population

Population estimates in the table below do not include the Aboriginal population before 1961. Estimates of Aboriginal population before European settlement range from 300,000 to one million, with archaeological finds indicating a sustainable maximum population of around 750,000. Where available, actual population figures from census years are included.

Population growth rates

Australia is continuing to grow, with the annual growth rate being 423,400 people or 1.6% in March 2025. The quarterly growth rate in 2025 was 0.5% or 144,238 people. As of 31 March 2025, all Australian states and territories reported positive population growth. Tasmania had the slowest population growth rate of 0.2% as of March 2025. Western Australia had the fastest population growth rate of 2.3% as of March 2025. As of 31 March 2025, Australia had a positive natural increase of 107,400 people. This is an increase of 2,000 people or 1.9% since 31 March 2024. Natural increase is the number of births minus the number of deaths in an area. The state of Victoria had the highest natural increase of 33,730 people in the year ending on 31 March 2025. Tasmania had the lowest natural increase of 179 people in the year ending on 31 March 2025.

Population by age

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Ages	1901	1911	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2007	2016
0–14 years	35.1	31.6	31.8	28.5	24.2	27.2	30.3	28.7	25.0	21.9	20.5	19.4	18.6
15–24 years	19.4	20.1	16.9	18.1	17.5	14.1	14.3	17.4	17.4	16.0	13.7	14.0	12.8
25–44 years	29.4	28.8	30.0	29.3	30.0	29.4	27.7	27.4	28.4	28.6	30.0	29.2	27.9
45–64 years	12.0	14.8	17.0	18.0	20.9	20.4	19.9	20.0	19.2	19.3	23.1	25.0	25.1
65 years and over	4.0	4.3	4.5	6.1	7.4	8.1	8.5	8.3	9.8	11.3	12.6	13.2	15.8
Total	100	99.6	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Median age

of the Australia population through history. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Years	1901	1911	1921	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2015	2017
Median age of the total population	22.5	24.0	25.8	30.3	29.3	27.7	29.6	32.4	35.7	37.4	38.7
Median age of males	23.6	24.6	26.1	29.9	28.7	27.0	29.0	31.7	34.9		37.9
Median age of females	21.5	23.4	25.5	30.8	30.2	28.3	30.2	33.0	36.4		39.5

Structure of the population

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	11 546 638	11 855 248	23 401 892	100
0–4	752 142	712 638	1 464 779	6.26
5–9	771 055	731 592	1 502 646	6.42
10–14	717 629	679 553	1 397 183	5.97
15–19	727 677	693 915	1 421 595	6.07
20–24	795 423	771 369	1 566 793	6.70
25–29	824 084	840 525	1 664 602	7.11
30–34	839 821	864 026	1 703 847	7.28
35–39	773 132	788 548	1 561 679	6.67
40–44	777 702	805 551	1 583 257	6.77
45–49	773 170	808 282	1 581 455	6.76
50–54	748 954	774 601	1 523 551	6.51
55–59	709 115	745 214	1 454 332	6.21
60–64	632 357	667 048	1 299 397	5.55
65-69	581 230	607 766	1 188 999	5.08
70-74	431 325	456 390	887 716	3.79
75-79	307 441	345 217	652 657	2.79
80-84	204 026	256 529	460 549	1.97
85-89	123 502	185 463	308 960	1.32
90-94	46 828	93 570	140 398	0.60
95-99	9 244	24 672	33 920	0.14
100+	777	2 788	3 569	0.02
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	2 240 826	2 123 783	4 364 609	18.65
15–64	7 601 439	7 759 070	15 360 509	65.64
65+	1 704 373	1 972 395	3 676 768	15.71

Population density

, the population density of Australia was reported as. This makes Australia the 3rd least densely populated country in the world, after Namibia and Mongolia.

Population by states and territories

Migration

The major contributor to the positive population growth in Australia was the positive net overseas migration. Net overseas migration is the number of overseas arrivals minus the number of overseas departures. New South Wales had the highest net overseas migration of 96,761 people for the year ending on 31 March 2025. Tasmania had the lowest net overseas migration of 3,182 people for the year ending on 31 March 2025.
Another aspect of population change within Australian states and territories is the net interstate migration. Net interstate migration is the interstate arrivals minus the interstate departures, so this only affects population changes between states and territories in Australia. Queensland had the greatest net interstate migration of 24,015 people as of 31 March 2025. New South Wales had the lowest net interstate migration of -26,560 people as of 31 March 2025. New South Wales recorded a negative net interstate migration, meaning more people left than entered.

Cities

Australia contains five cities that consist of over one million people. Most of Australia's population live close to coastlines.

Total fertility rate

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.
The following figures show the total fertility rates since the first years of British colonisation.

rowspan=2	1850	1851	1852	1853	1854	1855	1856	1857	1858	1859
4.94	5.01	4.07	5.03	4.86	5.32	5.19	5.63	5.71	5.75	-
rowspan=2	1860	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869
5.71	5.67	5.8	5.59	5.75	5.64	5.33	5.41	5.43	5.19	-
rowspan=2	1870	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879
5.19	5.09	4.97	5.01	4.93	4.81	4.81	4.69	4.74	4.8	-
rowspan=2	1880	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889
4.73	4.73	4.62	4.66	4.77	4.78	4.74	4.77	4.76	4.65	-
rowspan=2	1890	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899
4.69	4.62	4.52	4.4	4.13	4.07	3.81	3.78	3.64	3.66	-