PERSONAL space will be a thing of the past in 2075, as Australia’s population is set to double over the next 60 years.
According to the latest population projections released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the number of people calling Australia home will soar from just under 23 million to 46 million by 2075.
“Based on our projections, with medium growth, Australia will double its population by the year 2075,” said Bjorn Jarvis, Director of Demography at the ABS, “but under our high and low scenarios it could be as early as 2058, or after 2101.”
“Highlights from the ABS projections include Perth overtaking Brisbane in 2028, at three million people, and then ten years later, the Australian Capital Territory overtaking Tasmania.
“Melbourne and Sydney should be neck and neck by 2053, with 7.9 million people each.”
Lowlights include Tasmania’s population levelling out by around the year 2040 and then falling from 2047 onwards, the only state projected to experience a decline
Other projections include Western Australia’s population doubling in size, from 2.4 million people in 2012 to 4.7 million in 2040. Queensland will have gone from 4.6 million people to 7.3 million, and the Australian Capital Territory will have grown from 375,000 people to 586,000.
The population of the Northern Territory is projected to grow from 240,000 people in 2012 to 360,000 people in 2040 (a 51 per cent increase), Victoria 5.6 million to 8.4 million (50 per cent), New South Wales 7.3 million to 9.9 million (35 per cent), and South Australia 1.7 million to 2.1 million (26 per cent).
These population projections are based on assumptions of future levels of fertility, life expectancy and migration, which are guided by recent population trends. The average life expectancy in Australia recently cracked the 82-year mark for the first time, reflecting record low death rates.
Looking ahead the number of people aged 85 years and over is projected to almost triple by 2040, increasing by 770,000 people to reach 1.2 million in 2040. By then, people aged 85 years or over will make up four per cent of Australia’s population, compared to only two per cent in 2012.
So if you’re hanging out for your inheritance, don’t expect it any time soon.
