Natural population growth rate in Australia
Australia: Natural population growth rate was 0.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Natural population growth rate in Australia, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 0.5% for natural population growth rate in 2023.
That represents a change of up 20.9% on the previous year and down 32.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, natural population growth rate in Australia peaked at 1.4% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2022.
That places Australia 137th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Natural population growth rate in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1.4% | — |
| 1951 | 1.3% | -3.0% |
| 1952 | 1.4% | +5.5% |
| 1953 | 1.4% | -0.3% |
| 1954 | 1.3% | -3.7% |
| 1955 | 1.4% | +1.7% |
| 1956 | 1.3% | -1.8% |
| 1957 | 1.4% | +4.2% |
| 1958 | 1.4% | +0.4% |
| 1959 | 1.3% | -3.2% |
| 1960 | 1.4% | +1.1% |
| 1961 | 1.4% | +4.3% |
| 1962 | 1.3% | -6.9% |
| 1963 | 1.3% | -3.8% |
| 1964 | 1.1% | -10.8% |
| 1965 | 1.1% | -5.6% |
| 1966 | 1.0% | -4.5% |
| 1967 | 1.1% | +4.1% |
| 1968 | 1.1% | +2.6% |
| 1969 | 1.2% | +7.1% |
| 1970 | 1.2% | -1.4% |
| 1971 | 1.3% | +14.3% |
| 1972 | 1.2% | -6.8% |
| 1973 | 1.1% | -12.0% |
| 1974 | 1.0% | -8.1% |
| 1975 | 0.9% | -5.0% |
| 1976 | 0.8% | -12.4% |
| 1977 | 0.8% | +1.7% |
| 1978 | 0.8% | -3.3% |
| 1979 | 0.8% | -1.0% |
| 1980 | 0.8% | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 0.8% | +5.2% |
| 1982 | 0.8% | -1.4% |
| 1983 | 0.9% | +3.8% |
| 1984 | 0.8% | -7.1% |
| 1985 | 0.8% | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 0.8% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 0.8% | -4.0% |
| 1988 | 0.8% | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 0.7% | -3.3% |
| 1990 | 0.8% | +13.2% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | -3.8% |
| 1992 | 0.8% | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 0.8% | -1.8% |
| 1994 | 0.7% | -6.7% |
| 1995 | 0.7% | -2.4% |
| 1996 | 0.7% | -5.0% |
| 1997 | 0.7% | -3.3% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | -2.0% |
| 1999 | 0.6% | -2.0% |
| 2000 | 0.6% | -1.4% |
| 2001 | 0.6% | -4.0% |
| 2002 | 0.6% | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 0.6% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 0.6% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 0.7% | +7.7% |
| 2006 | 0.7% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 0.7% | +8.2% |
| 2008 | 0.7% | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 0.7% | -1.1% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | -3.8% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | -9.3% |
| 2015 | 0.6% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 0.6% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | -6.3% |
| 2018 | 0.6% | +5.7% |
| 2019 | 0.5% | -10.4% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -6.7% |
| 2021 | 0.5% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 0.4% | -26.3% |
| 2023 | 0.5% | +20.9% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 0.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1%, 4.1× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Australia's 0.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.8%, 54% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Natural population growth rate in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -26.3% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 134 Brazil 0.5% compare
- 135 Antigua and Barbuda 0.5% compare
- 136 Costa Rica 0.5% compare
- 138 Iceland 0.4% compare
- 139 Greenland 0.4% compare
- 140 New Zealand 0.4% compare
More population data for Australia
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.5057 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate 0.5755 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.5057 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.2553 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 32,193 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.8589 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate 0.2773 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth 0.5% (2100)
- Population density 5.61 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 2.09 million people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is natural population growth rate in Australia?
- Natural population growth rate in Australia was 0.5% in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest natural population growth rate recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 1961.
- What is the lowest natural population growth rate recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2022.
- How does Australia rank for natural population growth rate?
- Australia ranks 137th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is natural population growth rate rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Natural population growth rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Births minus deaths, as a share of the population. This is the part of population change that comes only from births and deaths, ignoring migration.