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AustraliaPopulation forecast

Australia

Population and age structure

Between 2021 and 2031, the age structure forecasts for Australia indicate a 5.2% increase in females under working age, a 31.3% increase in females of retirement age, and a 13.9% increase in females 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 females202120312041Change between 2021 and 2041
Age group (years)Number%Number%Number%Number
0 to 4733,5545.7801,8045.4896,2895.4+162,735
5 to 9785,0436.1816,8415.5881,8735.3+96,830
10 to 14788,3186.1807,3695.4870,9365.2+82,618
15 to 19717,4945.5875,1925.9904,5355.4+187,041
20 to 24786,1686.11,003,1626.71,022,6136.1+236,445
25 to 29903,5037.01,018,6026.81,165,2047.0+261,701
30 to 34958,9647.41,024,8066.91,209,5337.2+250,569
35 to 39938,9777.31,050,4457.01,137,1706.8+198,193
40 to 44838,4696.51,043,5577.01,095,3536.6+256,884
45 to 49832,5886.4984,0016.61,085,8976.5+253,309
50 to 54817,2256.3855,3525.71,051,2226.3+233,997
55 to 59787,7746.1831,0495.6974,8645.8+187,090
60 to 64753,6415.8808,6135.4842,1345.0+88,493
65 to 69662,4495.1767,6405.1809,5894.8+147,140
70 to 74591,9724.6711,6914.8768,5114.6+176,539
75 to 79419,2723.2593,7114.0696,4524.2+277,180
80 to 84295,3922.3481,4743.2592,6513.5+297,259
85 and over325,4092.5457,1213.1710,5914.3+385,182
Total persons12,936,212100.014,932,429100.016,715,419100.0+3,779,207
Source: .id SAFi National to State tops-down forecast, 5.1.0, published May 2023. Prepared by .id (informed decisions)

Key findings

In 2021, the dominant age structure for females in Australia was ages 30 to 34, which accounted for 7.4% of the total females.

The largest increase in females between 2021 and 2031 is forecast to be in ages 20 to 24, which is expected to increase by 216,994 and account for 6.7% of the total females.

The largest female 5 year age group in 2031 is 35 to 39 years, with a total of 1,050,445 females.

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