Australian Bureau of Statistics update official population forecasts

Updated projections by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today give us a glimpse of the nation’s future.

Get used to it ... a crowded platform at Sydney’s Town Hall station.

Australia’s population is set to hit 30 million people in little more than a decade with NSW expected to remain the largest state, reaching between 9 and 9.3m people by 2027.

Immigrants will account for 60 per cent of growth in this time compared to 40 per cent due to natural increases such as births.

New population projections released this morning by the Australian Bureau of Statistics have updated official forecasts for the first time in five years, using the more accurate 2016 Census data as a baseline.

South Australia will likely be among the slowest growth states in the short term, adding just 200,000 people to its current population of 1.7 million by 2027.

According to our latest figures, Australia's population is projected to reach 30 million people between 2029 and 2033. See more from the release here: https://t.co/10CirufqmJ pic.twitter.com/4VOefDrlp2

— Australian Bureau of Statistics (@ABSStats) November 22, 2018

Most of the growth in NSW will take place in Greater Sydney which currently accounts for 65 per cent of the state population, jumping to 68 per cent within a decade.

The number of people in greater Melbourne, however, will soar from 4.8 million people today to as many as 6.2m people by 2027. By this year, Greater Melbourne will account for almost 80 per cent of the population for the entire state of Victoria.

“Looking further ahead, based on the medium of our three main projection assumption series, Australia could add a further 10 million to our current 25 million by the year 2043,” ABS Director of Demography Anthony Grubb said.

Queensland will continue to grow, increasing to 6 million people in 2027. Western Australia is projected to increase to 3 million over the same period, while the ACT could soon hit 510,000 people, closing the gap on Tasmania’s population which is projected to reach between 545,000 and 573,000 people in 2027.

Crucially, however, the proportion of Australians aged 65 and over will rise from 15 per cent today to almost 23 per cent in five decades.

We've used our most recent population data to look at Australia's 10 most populated cities and urban areas. pic.twitter.com/zIskM8vq3R

— Australian Bureau of Statistics (@ABSStats) November 20, 2018