This article is about the demographic features of the population of Australia, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. The demographics of Australia covers basic statistics, most populous cities, ethnicity and religious affiliation. The population of Australia is growing at a rate of 1.7% per year, and, as of the end of 2008, was officially estimated to be approximately 21.5 million. Australia is the 53rd most populous country in the world and its population is concentrated in urban areas. Current Australia population trends Australia's population has grown from an estimated population of about 350,000 at the time of British Settlement in 1788 to a current population of approximately 21,618,330, due to further migration (see Australian Immigration) during the period since. Also due to immigration, the European component of the population is declining as a percentage, as it is in many other Western countries. Although Australia has scarcely more than two persons per square kilometre of total land area, this raw figure is highly misleading: most of the continent is desert or semi-desert and of limited agricultural value. In consequence, Australia is one of the world's most urbanised countries. Indigenous populationThe earliest accepted timeline for the first arrivals of indigenous Australians to the continent of Australia places this human migration to at least 40,000 years ago most probably from the islands of Indonesia and PNG. These first inhabitants of Australia were originally hunter-gatherer peoples, who over the course of many succeeding generations diversified widely throughout the continent and its nearby islands. Although their technical culture remained static—depending on wood, bone, and stone tools and weapons—their spiritual and social life was highly complex. Most spoke several languages, and confederacies sometimes linked widely scattered tribal groups. Aboriginal population density ranged from one person per square mile along the coasts to one person per in the arid interior. Food procurement was usually a matter for the nuclear family, requiring an estimated 3 days of work per week. There was little large game, and outside of some communities in the more fertile south-east, they had no agriculture. Australia may have been sighted by Portuguese sailors in 1601, and Dutch navigators landed on the forbidding coast of modern Western Australia several times during the 17th century. Captain James Cook claimed it for Great Britain in 1770. At that time, the indigenous population was estimated to have been between 315,000 and 750,000, divided into as many as 500 tribes speaking many different languages. In the 2006 Census, 407,700 respondents declared they were Aboriginal, 29,512 declared they were Torres Strait Islander, and a further 17,811 declared they were both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. . After adjustments for undercount, the indigenous population as of end June 2006 was estimated to be 517,200, representing about 2.5% of the population [.]
Since the end of World War II, efforts have been made both by the government and by the public to be more responsive to Aboriginal rights and needs. Today, many tribal Aborigines lead a settled traditional life in remote areas of northern, central, and western Australia. In the south, where most Aborigines are of mixed descent, most live in the cities. General Demographic statistics Much of the data that follows has been derived from the CIA World Factbook and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, through censuses.PopulationThe following figures are ABS estimates for the resident population of Australia, based on the 2001 and 2006 Censuses and other data.
21,262,641 (July 2009 - CIA World Factbook) country comparison to the world: 55 21,180,632 (end December 2007 - preliminary) 20,848,760 (end December 2006 - preliminary) 20,544,064 (end December 2005) 20,252,132 (end December 2004) 20,011,882 (end December 2003) 19,770,963 (end December 2002) 19,533,972 (end December 2001) Age structure0-14 years: 18.6% 15-64 years: 67.9% 65 years and over: 13.5% (2009 est.) Median ageTotal: 37.3 years Male: 36.6 years Female: 38.1 years (2009 est.) Population growth rateAs of the end of June 2008 the population growth rate was 1.7%.[ This rate was based on estimates of:]- one birth every 1 minute and 47 seconds,
- one death every 3 minutes and 47 seconds,
- a net gain of one international migrant every 2 minutes and 38 seconds leading to
- an overall total population increase of one person every 1 minutes and 31 seconds.
In 2009 the estimated rates were:
- Birth rate - 12.47 births/1,000 population (Rank 164)
At the time of Australian Federation in 1901, the rate of natural increase was 14.9 persons per 1,000 population. The rate increased to a peak of 17.4 per thousand population in the years 1912, 1913 and 1914. During the Great Depression, the rate declined to a low of 7.1 per thousand population in 1934 and 1935. Immediately after World War II the rate increased sharply as a result of the beginning of the Post-World War II baby boom and the immigration of many young people who then had children in Australia, with a plateau of rates of over 13.0 persons per 1,000 population for every year from 1946 to 1962.
There has been a fall in the rate of natural increase since 1962 due to falling fertility. In 1971 the rate of natural increase was 12.7 persons per 1,000 population; a decade later it had fallen to 8.5. In 1996 the rate of natural increase fell below seven for the first time, with the downward trend continuing in the late 1990s. Population projections by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that continued low fertility, combined with the increase in deaths from an ageing population, will result in natural increase falling below zero sometime in the mid 2030s. However in 2006 the fertility rate rose to 1.81, one of the highest rate in the OECD, arguably as a result of some pro-fertility state and federal government campaigns, including the Federal Government's baby bonus.
Since 1901, the crude death rate has fallen from about 12.2 deaths per 1,000 population to 6.4 deaths per 1,000 population in 2006.International comparisonFor the year ended 30 June 2008, Australia's population growth rate was 1.7 percent per year, almost 50 percent higher than the world average of 1.2 percent per year.
0.1% Japan 0.3% Greece and Sweden 0.6% China, Thailand and France 0.8% Canada 0.9% United States 1.0% New Zealand 1.2% World Average 1.6% India 1.7% Australia 2.2% Papua New Guinea Urbanization Urbanization population: 89% of total population (2008) Rate of urbanization: 1.2% annual rate of change (2005-2010) Sex ratioAt birth:1.00 male(s)/female Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2009) Infant mortality rateTotal: 4.75 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 196 Male: 5.08 deaths/1,000 live births Female: 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.) Life expectancy at birthTotal: 81.63 years country comparison to the world: 7 Male: 79.25 years Female: 84.14 years Total fertility rate 1.78 children born/woman (2009)
For more detailed regionwise TFR details see Birth rate and fertility rate in Australia.
country comparison to the world: 159 HIV/AIDSAdult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2007 est.) People living with HIV/AIDS: 18,000 (2007 est.)-majority in NSW. Deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.) [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html#People] Country of birth Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006.
Source:Australian Bureau of Statistics [ (table 6.6)] The Australian-resident population comprises people born in these countries:
For more information about immigration see Australian Immigration.Ancestry of Australian populationFor generations, the vast majority of both colonial-era settlers and post-Federation immigrants came from the United Kingdom and Ireland, although the gold rushes also drew migrants from other countries. Since the end of World War II, Australia's population more than doubled, spurred by large-scale European immigration during the immediate post-war decades. At this time, the White Australia Policy discouraged non-European immigration.
Abolition of the White Australia Policy in the mid-1970s led to a significant increase in non-European immigration, mostly from Asia and the Middle East. About 90% of Australia's population is of European descent. Over 8% of the population is of Asian descent (predominantly Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino and Indian)[. The total indigenous population is estimated to be about 520,000 individuals, including people of mixed descent.][. The population of Queensland also includes descendants of South Sea Islanders brought over for indentured servitude in the 19th century.]
In the 2006 Australian Census participants were asked "what is the person's ancestry?" and were able to give up to two answers. Proportionate to the Australian resident population, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:
Although only 0.58% of respondents indicated Aboriginal ancestry in response to the 'ancestry' question, an earlier question on the same 2006 Census form specifically asked about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origins. 2.3% of respondents indicated Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origins, most of these Aboriginal. After adjustments for undercount, the indigenous population as of end June 2006 was estimated to be 517,200, representing about 2.5% of the population.Religion and beliefChristianity is the predominant faith of Australia. According to the 2006 census, the largest religious denomination is the Roman Catholic; 25.8% of the population claimed affiliation. The next largest is the Anglican faith, at 18.7%. Members of other Christian denominations accounted for 19.4% of the population.
Minority religions practiced in Australia include Buddhism (2.1% of the population), Islam (1.7%), and Judaism (0.4%). Two percent of the population stated a different religion, which includes Sikhism and Indigenous beliefs, and 18.7% claimed no religion, while 11.2% did not respond.
The category of "no religion" includes non-theistic beliefs such as humanism, atheism, agnosticism and rationalism. A fifth sub-category is "No Religion - nfd" ("nfd" = no further definition). The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not provide statistics on how many people belong in each sub-category on "No Religion".
The Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001 Census Dictionary statement on religious affiliation states the purpose for gathering such information:
Data on religious affiliation are used for such purposes as planning educational facilities, aged persons' care and other social services provided by religion-based organisations; the location of church buildings; the assigning of chaplains to hospitals, prisons, armed services and universities; the allocation of time on public radio and other media; and sociological research.
As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is lower than would be indicated by the proportion of the population identifying themselves as Christian; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million, or about 7.5% of the population.LanguagesEnglish is the de facto national language of Australia and is spoken by the vast majority of the population.
The most commonly spoken languages other than English in Australia are Italian, Greek, German, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Chinese languages, Indian languages, Arabic, Macedonian and Croatian, as well as numerous Australian Aboriginal languages. Australia's hearing-impaired community uses Australian Deaf Sign Language.LiteracyDefinition: age 15 and over can read and write Total population: 99% Male: 99% Female: 99% (2003 est.) Education expenditure4.5% of GDP (2005) country comparison to the world: 55 NationalityHistorical population estimatesNote that population estimates in the table below do not include the Aboriginal population before 1961. Estimates of Aboriginal population prior to European settlement range from 300,000 to one million, with archaeological finds indicating a sustainable population of around 750,000.
See alsoGeneralCitiesEthnicities
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