Australia has reached a new population milestone, ticking over 28 million people, driven more by migration than the nation’s birth rate.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics population clock, a new person is being added to Australia every 75 seconds, with the milestone reached on Tuesday.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Australia hits 28 million population milestone
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For new parents Lucy and Christian, their baby Sophie arrived just in time to join the nation’s growing numbers.
“This is our first baby, so we’re learning lots of new things,” they said. “It’s exciting.”
Their new addition comes as Australia’s population clock ticks over to 28 million. To put that in perspective, if you wanted to get everyone together, it would take 57,000 A380s, and together we’d all fill up 280 MCGs.
This latest million has been the quickest yet.
Lucy, Christian and baby Sophie. Credit: 7NEWS
Back in 1901 at Federation, the population was just under 4 million. By the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, it was 9.5 million. In 1976, reaching peak ABBA fandom, it was 14 million. The 2000 Sydney Olympics saw a nation of 19 million, growing another 50 per cent since to today’s 28 million.
“Australia’s growth is being largely driven by net overseas migration,” ANU demographer Dr Liza Allen said.
Every day in Australia, around 630 people are born and 400 pass away. More than 1400 will arrive here to live and around 550 will leave, increasing the population by 1150.
Getting to 28 million on a global scale makes Australia the 55th biggest country by population, ahead of North Korea and closing in on Venezuela.
It reached 28 million on Tuesday. Credit: 7NEWS
The nation’s demographic profile is also changing. Back in the 1980s, the biggest age group was 10-year-olds. Now it’s people in their mid to late 30s, with the average age sitting at 39.
“Australia’s population is ageing. Total fertility rates are declining,” Allen said.
But we are on track to reach 30 million within five years as Sophie begins with a life expectancy of 85 years.
“We just hope that she’s going to be happy,” they said.
