Population growth in Australia
Australia: Population growth was 1.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Population growth in Australia, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, population growth in Australia stood at 1.5%.
The figure is down 22.7% on the previous year and up 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Australia peaked at 3.4% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2021.
Australia ranks 69th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.0% | 1.3% | 2.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.7% | 1.0% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.5% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.4% | 1.1% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.4% | 0.1% | 2.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More climate change data for Australia
- Population, total 27.61 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.7% (2025)
- Urban population 24.22 million (2025)
- Urban population 87.7% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 60.7% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 11.62 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 2.4% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 22.0% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 33.5% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 45.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Australia?
- Population growth in Australia was 1.5% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population growth recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.4% in 1971.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2021.
- How does Australia rank for population growth?
- Australia ranks 69th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.