Has the population peaked? in Australia
Australia: Has the population peaked? was 26.45 million people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
26.45 million people
Change on year
up 1.0%
World rank
54th
of 236 countries
All-time high
26.45 million people
in 2023
All-time low
8.18 million people
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Has the population peaked? in Australia, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Australia recorded 26.45 million people for has the population peaked? in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
The figure is up 1.0% on the previous year and up 13.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, has the population peaked? in Australia peaked at 26.45 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 8.18 million people, in 1950.
That places Australia 54th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Has the population peaked? in Australia, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 8.18 million people | — |
| 1951 | 8.42 million people | +3.0% |
| 1952 | 8.63 million people | +2.5% |
| 1953 | 8.82 million people | +2.1% |
| 1954 | 9.00 million people | +2.1% |
| 1955 | 9.21 million people | +2.3% |
| 1956 | 9.42 million people | +2.4% |
| 1957 | 9.64 million people | +2.3% |
| 1958 | 9.85 million people | +2.2% |
| 1959 | 10.06 million people | +2.2% |
| 1960 | 10.28 million people | +2.2% |
| 1961 | 10.50 million people | +2.1% |
| 1962 | 10.71 million people | +2.0% |
| 1963 | 10.91 million people | +1.9% |
| 1964 | 11.13 million people | +2.0% |
| 1965 | 11.36 million people | +2.1% |
| 1966 | 11.59 million people | +2.1% |
| 1967 | 11.81 million people | +1.9% |
| 1968 | 12.03 million people | +1.9% |
| 1969 | 12.27 million people | +2.0% |
| 1970 | 12.60 million people | +2.7% |
| 1971 | 13.00 million people | +3.2% |
| 1972 | 13.30 million people | +2.4% |
| 1973 | 13.52 million people | +1.6% |
| 1974 | 13.72 million people | +1.5% |
| 1975 | 13.89 million people | +1.3% |
| 1976 | 14.05 million people | +1.1% |
| 1977 | 14.20 million people | +1.1% |
| 1978 | 14.37 million people | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 14.53 million people | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 14.72 million people | +1.3% |
| 1981 | 14.95 million people | +1.5% |
| 1982 | 15.19 million people | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 15.41 million people | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 15.62 million people | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 15.84 million people | +1.4% |
| 1986 | 16.07 million people | +1.5% |
| 1987 | 16.32 million people | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 16.59 million people | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 16.87 million people | +1.7% |
| 1990 | 17.13 million people | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 17.35 million people | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 17.55 million people | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 17.72 million people | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 17.90 million people | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 18.10 million people | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 18.31 million people | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 18.50 million people | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 18.70 million people | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 18.91 million people | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 19.13 million people | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 19.37 million people | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 19.60 million people | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 19.82 million people | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 20.05 million people | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 20.29 million people | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 20.59 million people | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 20.95 million people | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 21.37 million people | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 21.78 million people | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 22.14 million people | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 22.48 million people | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 22.85 million people | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 23.24 million people | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 23.60 million people | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 23.95 million people | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 24.33 million people | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 24.73 million people | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 25.12 million people | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 25.48 million people | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 25.74 million people | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 25.96 million people | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 26.20 million people | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 26.45 million people | +1.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 26.45 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.98 million people, 8.9× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Australia's 26.45 million people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.38 million people, 19.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 9.12 million people | 8.18 million people | 10.06 million people | 10 |
| 1960s | 11.26 million people | 10.28 million people | 12.27 million people | 10 |
| 1970s | 13.72 million people | 12.60 million people | 14.53 million people | 10 |
| 1980s | 15.76 million people | 14.72 million people | 16.87 million people | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.02 million people | 17.13 million people | 18.91 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.30 million people | 19.13 million people | 21.78 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.79 million people | 22.14 million people | 25.48 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.09 million people | 25.74 million people | 26.45 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
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 has the population peaked? in Australia?
- Has the population peaked? in Australia was 26.45 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest has the population peaked? recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 26.45 million people in 2023.
- What is the lowest has the population peaked? recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.18 million people in 1950.
- How does Australia rank for has the population peaked??
- Australia ranks 54th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is has the population peaked? rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Has the population peaked?. 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
Total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown.