Australia: population and ages

In mid-1950 there were 8.18 million people, so the population is now 3.3 times as large.

The UN projects 303,000 births and 187,000 deaths in 2026, 116,000 more births than deaths.

More people move in than leave: net migration in 2026 is projected at plus 132,000.

The median age is 38.5, which is 7.4 years above the world’s 31.1.

18% of the people are under 15 and 18% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).

People aged 65 and over have outnumbered children under 15 since 2025.

Women have 1.6 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 3.1 in 1950.

Life expectancy at birth is 84.3 years, above the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 69.0.

For mid-2050 the UN projects 32.5 million people, 19% more than now, with a median age of 42.0.

By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 83.9 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 22.9 more years for women and 20.3 for men.

On 1 January 2026, there are 28.5 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 39.2.

For 2100 the UN projects a population of 43.1 million, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 16.4 million to 67 million.

Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.

In mid-2024, 8.11 million international migrants lived here, 30.4% of the population.

In mid-2024, 431,000 people from here lived in other countries.