Powered by .id (informed decisions) for Australia
.id community is an evidence base for over 250 local government areas in Australia and New Zealand, helping you make informed decisions.
LEARN MORE ABOUT .idBetween 2021 and 2031, the age structure forecasts for Australia indicate a 4.9% increase in population under working age, a 31.2% increase in population of retirement age, and a 14.1% increase in population of working age.
Knowledge of how the age structure of the population is changing is essential for planning age-based facilities and services, such as child care, recreation and aged care.
The forecast age groups of Australia is a function of the current age of the population (people aging each year, being born and dying) as well as the age of people migrating into and out of the area. This in turn is driven by location (fringe, city centre, regional or rural) the existing housing stock (separate dwellings, medium or high density), the amount and type of new residential development (same as existing stock, or diversifying) and where the area is in a cycle of change. We call this the area’s residential role and function.
| Forecast age structure - 5 year age groups | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia - Total persons | 2021 | 2031 | 2041 | Change between 2021 and 2041 | |||
| Age group (years) | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number |
| 0 to 4 | 1,509,708 | 5.9 | 1,647,455 | 5.6 | 1,841,660 | 5.6 | +331,952 |
| 5 to 9 | 1,616,482 | 6.3 | 1,677,016 | 5.7 | 1,810,468 | 5.5 | +193,986 |
| 10 to 14 | 1,623,594 | 6.3 | 1,658,745 | 5.6 | 1,787,233 | 5.4 | +163,639 |
| 15 to 19 | 1,479,438 | 5.8 | 1,799,572 | 6.1 | 1,855,214 | 5.6 | +375,776 |
| 20 to 24 | 1,623,161 | 6.3 | 2,057,628 | 7.0 | 2,093,897 | 6.3 | +470,736 |
| 25 to 29 | 1,821,745 | 7.1 | 2,071,389 | 7.0 | 2,366,217 | 7.1 | +544,472 |
| 30 to 34 | 1,899,312 | 7.4 | 2,065,966 | 7.0 | 2,432,742 | 7.3 | +533,430 |
| 35 to 39 | 1,867,033 | 7.3 | 2,086,187 | 7.0 | 2,277,358 | 6.9 | +410,325 |
| 40 to 44 | 1,654,210 | 6.4 | 2,052,833 | 6.9 | 2,189,718 | 6.6 | +535,508 |
| 45 to 49 | 1,649,722 | 6.4 | 1,943,693 | 6.6 | 2,142,337 | 6.5 | +492,615 |
| 50 to 54 | 1,611,199 | 6.3 | 1,675,324 | 5.7 | 2,053,754 | 6.2 | +442,555 |
| 55 to 59 | 1,550,121 | 6.0 | 1,630,591 | 5.5 | 1,908,259 | 5.8 | +358,138 |
| 60 to 64 | 1,464,645 | 5.7 | 1,573,649 | 5.3 | 1,629,746 | 4.9 | +165,101 |
| 65 to 69 | 1,279,819 | 5.0 | 1,488,055 | 5.0 | 1,567,588 | 4.7 | +287,769 |
| 70 to 74 | 1,146,509 | 4.5 | 1,359,186 | 4.6 | 1,474,612 | 4.5 | +328,103 |
| 75 to 79 | 807,040 | 3.1 | 1,119,044 | 3.8 | 1,326,614 | 4.0 | +519,574 |
| 80 to 84 | 545,304 | 2.1 | 895,149 | 3.0 | 1,101,483 | 3.3 | +556,179 |
| 85 and over | 534,189 | 2.1 | 798,993 | 2.7 | 1,258,289 | 3.8 | +724,100 |
| Total persons | 25,683,231 | 100.0 | 29,600,476 | 100.0 | 33,117,189 | 100.0 | +7,433,958 |
Key findings
In 2021, the dominant age structure for persons in Australia was ages 30 to 34, which accounted for 7.4% of the total persons.
The largest increase in persons between 2021 and 2031 is forecast to be in ages 20 to 24, which is expected to increase by 434,467 and account for 7.0% of the total persons.
The largest 5 year age group in 2031 is 35 to 39 years, with a total of 2,086,187 persons.
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