Australia’s burgeoning population has reached a new milestone: 25 million.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) which, among other things, is responsible for recording deaths, births and immigration statistics in Australia, reported the arrival of Australia’s 25 millionth new face with its online population clock ticking over at 11.00pm on August 7, 2018.
With the ABS reporting that every 61 seconds someone arrives from overseas to live in Australia, it’s more likely the 25 millionth Australian is an immigrant, rather than a newborn. One Australian is born every 102 seconds.
It has taken the last century for Australia to grow by 20 million, having passed five million in 1908. But over the years our rate of growth has increased. Between 1908 and 1959, a period of 41 years, the population grew by only five million, at a rate of just over 120,000 per year. More recently, it took only 14 years to grow from 20 million to 25 million with just over 350,000 new Aussies appearing every year.
Australia, we’ve hit a population milestone – 25 million to be exact.
The last time we reached a major milestone was in January 2016 when we reached 24 million. #25million pic.twitter.com/7bvoTwqz7n— Australian Bureau of Statistics (@ABSStats) August 8, 2018
We’re the world’s 18th most urbanised country, with many Australians choosing to live in major cities as opposed to regional centres. Sixteen million people are living in capital cities around Australia. Sydney has the highest number of residents with over five million.
Australia’s most common profession is general sales assistant, with 561,000 of them in the country. But if you want to be something a little more unique, we have only seven bungee jump masters.
Older Australians are flocking to the balmy NSW coast. The two areas with the oldest median age in Australia are both in that region. Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest – near Newcastle – has the oldest population, with a median age of 61. Tuncurry, just to the north, is only one year behind with a median age of 60. Elsewhere, Bribie Island in the Greater Brisbane area comes in third, with a median age of 59.
For younger people, the ACT is the place to go. Acton and Duntroon take out the top two prizes for the youngest median age, with 20 and 21 respectively.
The ABS has recorded the appearance of around 400,000 new Australians each year over the past three years, and if these trends continue it will take around two-and-a-half years to grow by another million. However the ABS is set to release new projections on November 22, 2018.
-John Hall