It’s hard to remember (or imagine) what life was like 60 years ago. Humans hadn’t walked the moon, Instagram didn’t exist and no one gave a second thought about plastic straws. While we can’t predict what’s to come in the next 60 years, we can safely say that there will be a fair few more humans hanging around. Australia’s population predictions for the next six decades have been released, with our country expected to house more than 40 million people by 2071 (a 51 per cent increase). And the population of NSW (which is already the country's most populous state at 8.2 million people) is predicted to grow at a higher rate than the other states and territories – by between 0.4 per cent and 1.2 per cent each year.
The findings comes out of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest population projections, based on assumptions relating to fertility, mortality and migration. The study predicts that Australia’s population (which is currently 26.5 million strong) will land somewhere between 34.3 and 45.9 million people in the next six decades – that's closer to the size of Canada's current population.
By 2032, NSW is expected to have between 9.2 million and 9.6 million people, and could reach between 10.8 million and 13.8 million by 2071. Victoria is chasing at our tail – their current population of 6.6 million is also forecasted to reach 13.8 million by 2071, at its maximum.
It’s no surprise that Australia will continue to age, with our country’s current median age of 38.6 years predicted to rise to between 43.8 and 47.6 years by 2071. According to the study, Tasmania will remain the oldest of all states and territories, Northern Territory will remain the youngest, and NSW will sit somewhere in the middle with our median age of 38.7 years in 2022 predicted to rise to between 43.5 years and 47.6 years by 2071.
You can find the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ full population projections for 2022-2071, here.