Historical population data in Australia

Australia: Historical population data was 27.61 million Persons in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
27.61 million Persons
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
20th
of 43 countries
All-time high
27.61 million Persons
in 2025
All-time low
8.18 million Persons
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025

Historical population data in Australia, 1950–2025

10.0M15.0M20.0M25.0M30.0M195019872025

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Persons.

Analysis

Australia recorded 27.61 million Persons for historical population data in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 15.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, historical population data in Australia peaked at 27.61 million Persons in 2025 and was at its lowest, 8.18 million Persons, in 1950.

Australia ranks 20th of 43 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.

Historical population data in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Historical population data in Australia, 1950 to 2025.
Year Persons Change
1950 8.18 million Persons —
1951 8.42 million Persons +3.0%
1952 8.64 million Persons +2.6%
1953 8.82 million Persons +2.1%
1954 8.99 million Persons +1.9%
1955 9.20 million Persons +2.4%
1956 9.43 million Persons +2.5%
1957 9.64 million Persons +2.3%
1958 9.84 million Persons +2.1%
1959 10.06 million Persons +2.2%
1960 10.28 million Persons +2.2%
1961 10.51 million Persons +2.3%
1962 10.70 million Persons +1.8%
1963 10.91 million Persons +1.9%
1964 11.12 million Persons +2.0%
1965 11.34 million Persons +2.0%
1966 11.60 million Persons +2.3%
1967 11.80 million Persons +1.7%
1968 12.01 million Persons +1.8%
1969 12.26 million Persons +2.1%
1970 12.51 million Persons +2.0%
1971 13.07 million Persons +4.5%
1972 13.30 million Persons +1.8%
1973 13.50 million Persons +1.5%
1974 13.72 million Persons +1.6%
1975 13.89 million Persons +1.2%
1976 14.03 million Persons +1.0%
1977 14.19 million Persons +1.1%
1978 14.36 million Persons +1.2%
1979 14.52 million Persons +1.1%
1980 14.70 million Persons +1.2%
1981 14.92 million Persons +1.6%
1982 15.18 million Persons +1.7%
1983 15.39 million Persons +1.4%
1984 15.58 million Persons +1.2%
1985 15.79 million Persons +1.3%
1986 16.02 million Persons +1.5%
1987 16.26 million Persons +1.5%
1988 16.53 million Persons +1.6%
1989 16.81 million Persons +1.7%
1990 17.07 million Persons +1.5%
1991 17.28 million Persons +1.3%
1992 17.48 million Persons +1.1%
1993 17.63 million Persons +0.9%
1994 17.81 million Persons +1.0%
1995 18.00 million Persons +1.1%
1996 18.22 million Persons +1.2%
1997 18.42 million Persons +1.1%
1998 18.61 million Persons +1.0%
1999 18.81 million Persons +1.1%
2000 19.03 million Persons +1.2%
2001 19.27 million Persons +1.3%
2002 19.50 million Persons +1.1%
2003 19.72 million Persons +1.2%
2004 19.93 million Persons +1.1%
2005 20.18 million Persons +1.2%
2006 20.45 million Persons +1.4%
2007 20.83 million Persons +1.8%
2008 21.25 million Persons +2.0%
2009 21.69 million Persons +2.1%
2010 22.03 million Persons +1.6%
2011 22.34 million Persons +1.4%
2012 22.73 million Persons +1.8%
2013 23.13 million Persons +1.7%
2014 23.48 million Persons +1.5%
2015 23.82 million Persons +1.4%
2016 24.19 million Persons +1.6%
2017 24.59 million Persons +1.7%
2018 24.96 million Persons +1.5%
2019 25.33 million Persons +1.5%
2020 25.65 million Persons +1.2%
2021 25.69 million Persons +0.1%
2022 26.02 million Persons +1.3%
2023 26.66 million Persons +2.5%
2024 27.19 million Persons +2.0%
2025 27.61 million Persons +1.5%

Australia compared with similar countries

  • Australia's 27.61 million Persons is above the median for high income countries, which is 10.48 million Persons, 2.6× the median. (34 countries reporting)
  • Australia's 27.61 million Persons is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 75.42 million Persons, 37% of the median. (6 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 9.12 million Persons 8.18 million Persons 10.06 million Persons 10
1960s 11.25 million Persons 10.28 million Persons 12.26 million Persons 10
1970s 13.71 million Persons 12.51 million Persons 14.52 million Persons 10
1980s 15.72 million Persons 14.70 million Persons 16.81 million Persons 10
1990s 17.93 million Persons 17.07 million Persons 18.81 million Persons 10
2000s 20.18 million Persons 19.03 million Persons 21.69 million Persons 10
2010s 23.66 million Persons 22.03 million Persons 25.33 million Persons 10
2020s 26.47 million Persons 25.65 million Persons 27.61 million Persons 6

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 17 Argentina 45.85 million Persons compare
  2. 18 Canada 41.65 million Persons compare
  3. 19 Saudi Arabia 35.93 million Persons compare
  4. 21 Chile 20.21 million Persons compare
  5. 22 Romania 19.02 million Persons compare
  6. 23 Belgium 11.85 million Persons compare

See the full ranking of 56 places →

More population data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is historical population data in Australia?
Historical population data in Australia was 27.61 million Persons in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest historical population data recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 27.61 million Persons in 2025.
What is the lowest historical population data recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 8.18 million Persons in 1950.
How does Australia rank for historical population data?
Australia ranks 20th out of 43 countries with data for 2025.
Is historical population data rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is up 15.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Historical population data. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Historical population data in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 07 October 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/historical-population-data/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Historical population data
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
56 places, 4,256 data points, 1950–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset presents annual population data from 1961 by sex and five year age groups as well as the share of children, youth, the elderly, old-age and total dependency ratios. The data is available for all member countries as well as for the EU27 and G20 countries, Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa and the World total. The data refer to mid-year estimates of the population. See country details in Historical population metadata.