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Urban and rural population projected to 2050 in Australia

Australia: Urban and rural population projected to 2050 was 3.38 million people in 2050. ▲ Rising

Latest (2050)
3.38 million people
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
85th
of 238 countries
All-time high
3.38 million people
in 2050
All-time low
254,199 people
in 1820
Years of data
133
1000–2050

Urban and rural population projected to 2050 in Australia, 1000–2050

01.0M2.0M3.0M100015252050

Source: HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

Australia recorded 3.38 million people for urban and rural population projected to 2050 in 2050. That is the highest value across all 133 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 3.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban and rural population projected to 2050 in Australia peaked at 3.38 million people in 2050 and was at its lowest, 254,199 people, in 1820.

Australia ranks 85th of 238 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 133 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 314,849 people 314,849 people 314,849 people 1
1100s 315,020 people 315,020 people 315,020 people 1
1200s 315,269 people 315,269 people 315,269 people 1
1300s 315,621 people 315,621 people 315,621 people 1
1400s 316,086 people 316,086 people 316,086 people 1
1500s 316,588 people 316,588 people 316,588 people 1
1600s 316,758 people 316,758 people 316,758 people 1
1700s 309,340 people 309,340 people 309,340 people 1
1710s 308,480 people 308,480 people 308,480 people 1
1720s 307,476 people 307,476 people 307,476 people 1
1730s 306,306 people 306,306 people 306,306 people 1
1740s 304,940 people 304,940 people 304,940 people 1
1750s 303,347 people 303,347 people 303,347 people 1
1760s 301,488 people 301,488 people 301,488 people 1
1770s 299,479 people 299,479 people 299,479 people 1
1780s 297,344 people 297,344 people 297,344 people 1
1790s 295,758 people 295,758 people 295,758 people 1
1800s 277,522 people 277,522 people 277,522 people 1
1810s 260,681 people 260,681 people 260,681 people 1
1820s 254,199 people 254,199 people 254,199 people 1
1830s 264,286 people 264,286 people 264,286 people 1
1840s 321,486 people 321,486 people 321,486 people 1
1850s 536,588 people 536,588 people 536,588 people 1
1860s 1.02 million people 1.02 million people 1.02 million people 1
1870s 1.41 million people 1.41 million people 1.41 million people 1
1880s 1.72 million people 1.72 million people 1.72 million people 1
1890s 2.21 million people 2.21 million people 2.21 million people 1
1900s 2.44 million people 2.44 million people 2.44 million people 1
1910s 2.60 million people 2.60 million people 2.60 million people 1
1920s 2.77 million people 2.77 million people 2.77 million people 1
1930s 2.76 million people 2.76 million people 2.76 million people 1
1940s 2.42 million people 2.42 million people 2.42 million people 1
1950s 1.92 million people 1.89 million people 1.98 million people 10
1960s 1.91 million people 1.87 million people 1.95 million people 10
1970s 1.95 million people 1.86 million people 2.06 million people 10
1980s 2.29 million people 2.09 million people 2.47 million people 10
1990s 2.65 million people 2.50 million people 2.81 million people 10
2000s 2.92 million people 2.85 million people 3.02 million people 10
2010s 3.14 million people 3.05 million people 3.24 million people 10
2020s 3.31 million people 3.28 million people 3.32 million people 10
2030s 3.29 million people 3.28 million people 3.30 million people 10
2040s 3.31 million people 3.28 million people 3.36 million people 10
2050s 3.38 million people 3.38 million people 3.38 million people 1

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 82 Malaysia 4.00 million people compare
  2. 83 Taiwan 3.95 million people compare
  3. 84 Lao PDR 3.64 million people compare
  4. 86 Eritrea 3.38 million people compare
  5. 87 Peru 3.31 million people compare
  6. 88 Argentina 3.18 million people compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More population data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban and rural population projected to 2050 in Australia?
Urban and rural population projected to 2050 in Australia was 3.38 million people in 2050, according to HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest urban and rural population projected to 2050 recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 3.38 million people in 2050.
What is the lowest urban and rural population projected to 2050 recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 254,199 people in 1820.
How does Australia rank for urban and rural population projected to 2050?
Australia ranks 85th out of 238 countries with data for 2050.
Is urban and rural population projected to 2050 rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Urban and rural population projected to 2050. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 133 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Urban and rural population projected to 2050
Unit
people
Source
HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 30,401 data points, 1000–2050
Last refreshed

Number of people living in rural areas, combining UN estimates and projections with modelled historical data.