The people of Australia

Population growth

Australia’s population is currently over 21.7 million. Projected growth rates according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate an average of one birth every one minute and 51 seconds, one death every three minutes and 48 seconds, and a net gain of one international migrant every two minutes and 38 seconds, leading to an overall population increase of one person every one minute and 31 seconds.

Australia is currently experiencing record population growth, with growth figures the highest they have been since 1989.

The average Australian age

The median age in Australia is 36.9 (36 for men and 37.7 for women). And like nearly all OECD countries, Australia is ageing as a result of immigration (skilled workers arriving) and lower mortality rates.

The proportion of people aged 65+ years is expected to nearly double in the next 30 years from 13.3% of the population to over 25%. This is expected to put pressure on resources to the extent that the Federal budget will likely be pushed into deficit.

The ethnic composition of Australians

Thirty-one percent of Australians claim English descent, compared to 37% who call themselves Australian.

In 2006, 5 million residents reported being born outside Australia, making up 24% of the population. These were mainly from the UK (1,153,000), New Zealand (476,719) and China (279,000).

Fifty percent of Australians claim to have at least one parent who is not native to Australia, and the fastest growing group within this statistic is white immigrants from African countries, particularly South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Australia's urban sprawl

Australia, though vast, is one of the most urbanised countries in the world. Ninety-one percent of the country’s population live in urban areas, and around 68% live in the south and eastern states, although there is evidence of a slow trend north and over to Western Australia.

It is interesting to note that Aborigine populations are disproportionately distributed, with 32% of the population of the Northern Territories being made up by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders compared with only 0.6% of Victoria’s population being of Aboriginal descent.

Australian literacy

Literacy and education in Australia rate highly as with other OECD countries. It is estimated that 99% of the population is literate, though there is some debate that the literacy rates within indigenous communities are not reflective of the country in general.