Growth of number of inhabitants (in thousands) from 1961-2003. Data from FAO, year 2005

The demographics of Australia cover basic statistics, most populous cites, ethnicity and religious affiliation. The population of Australia is growing at a rate of 1.2% per year and officially reached 20 million people on 4 December 2003. [1] Australia is the 52nd most populous country in the world and its population is characterised as largely homogenous, urban and predominantly Christian. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... FAO emblem With its headquarters in Rome, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that works to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living; to improve the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of food and agricultural products; to promote rural development; and... December 4 is the 338th day (339th on leap years) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, referred to as Christ. ...

Current (2006) Demographic data

Population pyramid

Much of the data that follows has been derived from the CIA World Factbook and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, through censuses. Image File history File links Australia_population_pyramid_2005. ... Image File history File links Australia_population_pyramid_2005. ... A population pyramid is two back-to-back bar graphs, one showing the number of males and one showing females in a particular population in five-year age groups (also called cohorts). ... The World Factbook 2006 (government edtion) cover. ... Australian Bureau of Statistics logo The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the Australian government agency that collects and publishes statistical information about Australia. ... The Australian census is run by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. ...

Population

20,702,661 (November 15 2006 - ABS)

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Age structure

0-14 years: 19.6% (male 2,031,313/female 1,936,802)

15-64 years: 67.3% (male 6,881,863/female 6,764,709)

65 years and over: 13.1% (male 1,170,589/female 1,478,806) (2006 est.)

Median age

Total: 36.9 years

Male: 36 years

Female: 37.7 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate

Annual population growth (%) for Australia data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics table 3105.0.65.001 Australian Historical Population Statistics - 1.Population size and growth (Data from before 1800 has not been included as varies from -25% to 220% )

1.3% (March 2006 - ABS)

In October 2006, the population growth rate is based on estimates of: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (905x552, 11 KB) Summary Annual population growth (%) for Australia information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics table 3105. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (905x552, 11 KB) Summary Annual population growth (%) for Australia information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics table 3105. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• one birth every 2 minutes and 0 seconds,
• one death every 3 minutes and 55 seconds,
• a net gain of one international migrant every 4 minutes and 47 seconds leading to
• an overall total population increase of one person every 2 minutes and 12 seconds. (ABS Population clock)

In 2005 the estimated rates were:

• birth rate - 12.26 births/1,000 population
• death rate - 6.3 deaths/1,000 population
• net migration rate - 3.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population.

At the time of Australian Federation in 1901, the rate of natural increase was 14.9 persons per 1,000 population. The rate increased to a peak of 17.4 per thousand population in the years 1912, 1913 and 1914. During the Great Depression, the rate declined to a low of 7.1 per thousand population in 1934 and 1935. Immediately after the Second World War, in the mid to late 1940s, the rate increased sharply as a result of the beginning of the Post-World War II baby boom and the immigration of many young people who then had children in Australia, with a plateau of rates of over 13.0 persons per 1,000 population for every year from 1946 to 1962. The federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed a federation. ... Human population increase from 10,000 BC – 2000 AD. Population growth is change in population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals in a population per unit time. ... In 1931, over 1000 unemployed men marched from the Esplanade to the Treasury Building in Perth, Western Australia to see Premier Sir James Mitchell. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... A U.S. postage stamp depicting the increase in birthrate experienced after World War II. As is often the case with a large war, the elation of victory and large numbers of males returning to their country triggered a baby boom after the end of World War II in many...

There has been a fall in the rate of natural increase since 1962 due to falling fertility. In 1971 the rate of natural increase was 12.7 persons per 1,000 population; a decade later it had fallen to 8.5. In 1996 the rate of natural increase fell below seven for the first time, with the downward trend continuing in the late 1990s. Population projections by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that continued low fertility, combined with the increase in deaths from an ageing population, will result in natural increase falling below zero sometime in the mid 2030s. However in 2006 the fertility rate rose to 1.81, one of the highest rate in the OECD. The (total) fertility rate of a population is the average number of child births per woman. ... The (total) fertility rate of a population is the average number of child births per woman. ... The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organization of those developed countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and a free market economy. ...

Since 1901, the crude death rate has fallen from about 12.2 deaths per 1,000 population to 6.7 in 2000. [2]

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total: 4.63 deaths/1,000 live births

Male: 5.02 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 4.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 80.5 years

Male: 77.64 years

Female: 83.52 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.76 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2003 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 14,000 (2003 est.)

Deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)

 24000 in 2006 

Country of Birth

76.9% Australian born, 23.1% foreign born. For more information about immigration see Australian Immigration).

The most commonly declared foreign countries of birth amongst respondents were:

United Kingdom : 1,036,253 (5.8%)

New Zealand : 355,765 (2.0%)

Italy : 218,692 (1.2%)

Vietnam : 154,770 (0.9%)

China : 142,872 (0.8%)

Greece : 116,330 (0.7%)

Germany : 108,251 (0.6%)

Philippines : 104,018 (0.6%)

India : 95,444 (0.5%)

Netherlands : 83,299 (0.5%)

Collectively 150,966 respondents (0.9%) were born in countries now known as Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia.

Data derived from enumerated 2001 Census data.

Immigration to Australia began at least 40,000 years ago, when the ancestors of Australian Aborigines arrived via the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Motto: none Anthem: Oj, svijetla majska zoro Capital Podgorica Largest city Podgorica Serbian of the Ijekavian dialect1 Government Republic  - President Filip Vujanović  - Prime Minister Željko Å turanović Independence From Serbia and Montenegro   - Declared June 3, 2006   - Recognised June 8, 2006  Area  - Total 14,026 km² (159th) 5,414 sq mi   - Water... Anthem: Transliteration: English: Capital Skopje Largest city Skopje Macedonian, Albanian1 Government Parliamentary republic  - President Branko Crvenkovski  - Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski Independence from Yugoslavia   - Declared September 8, 1991  Area  - Total 25,333 km² (148th) 9,779 sq mi   - Water (%) 1. ...

Indigenous populations

In the 2001 Census, 366,436 respondents declared they were Aboriginal (2.07% of all respondents), 26,088 declared they were Torres Strait Islander (0.15%) and 17,636 declared they were both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (0.10%).

See also, List of Indigenous Australian group names Indigenous Australians are the first human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. ... Torres Strait Islanders are the indigenous people of the Torres Strait Islands, part of Queensland, Australia. ... See also, List of Indigenous Australian group names Indigenous Australians are the first human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. ... Torres Strait Islanders are the indigenous people of the Torres Strait Islands, part of Queensland, Australia. ...

Ethnic groups

Australia's people represent a variety of ethnic groups. Caucasians, or White Australians, peaked at 92% of the population in 2005, but in early 2006, the number declined to 91%, and is expected to drop until it reaches 89% in 2050. Asian Australians are the second largest group, and also the fastest growing. Asians stood at 8% of the population in April 2006. Most are Chinese, Vietnamese, Lebanese or Indian, but others are Pakistani, Japanese and Lao. Aboriginal numbers remain small, yet they stand now at 1.95% of the population, compared to the Aboriginal population of 2001, which numbered 1.04%. In 2020, Australia is expected to have 91% of the population as White, 10% as Asian, and Aborigines may very well reach 2%. An Asian Australian can be generally defined as a person of Asian ancestry or origin who was born in or is an immigrant to Australia. ... ...

Religions and beliefs

Roman Catholic 26.6%, Anglican 20.7%, other Christian 20.7%, 2.1% Buddhist, 1.5% Muslims, 0.4% Jewish, 0.8% other, No Religion 15.5%, Not described 11.7%

The category of "No Religion" includes non-theistic beliefs such as humanism, atheism, agnosticism and rationalism. A fifth sub-category is "No Religion - nfd" ("nfd" = no further definition). The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not provide statistics on how many people belong in each sub-category on "No Religion".

The Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001 Census Dictionary statement on religious affiliation states the purpose for gathering such information:

Data on religious affiliation are used for such purposes as planning educational facilities, aged persons' care and other social services provided by religion-based organisations; the location of church buildings; the assigning of chaplains to hospitals, prisons, armed services and universities; the allocation of time on public radio and other media; and sociological research.

As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is much lower than would be indicated by the proportion of Christians indicated in the ABS statistics; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million, about 7.5% of the population.^[1] The Roman Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. ... Arms of the Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, a member church of the Anglican Communion, was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania (renamed in 1981). ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... Secular humanism is a humanist philosophy that upholds reason, ethics, and justice and specifically rejects rituals and ceremonies as a means to affirm a life stance. ... The 18th-century French author Baron dHolbach was one of the first self-described atheists; he did not believe in the existence of any deities. ... Agnosticism (from the Greek a, meaning without and gnosis, knowledge, translating to unknowable) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly theological claims regarding metaphysics, afterlife or the existence of God, god(s), or deities — is unknown or inherently unknowable. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Australian Bureau of Statistics logo The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the Australian government agency that collects and publishes statistical information about Australia. ...

Languages

De facto national language: English

Most common languages other than English: Chinese languages, Italian, Greek, Indian languages, Vietnamese, Filipino,

Indigenous: Australian Aboriginal languages, Australian Deaf Sign Language

• See [3]

De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngwén) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: Hànyǔ, Huáyǔ, or Zhōngwén) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... The article describes the languages spoken in the Republic of India. ... The Australian Aboriginal languages comprise several language families and isolates native to Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding Tasmania. ... Auslan is the sign language used by the Australian Deaf community. ...

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 99%

Male: 99%

Female: 99% (2003 est.)

Indigenous population

The Demographics of Australia can be considered as starting with the initial migrations of peoples ancestral to the present-day indigenous Australians to the continent of Australia. The earliest widely accepted timeline for these first arrivals places this prehistoric human migration at least 40,000–45,000 years ago; other less widely supported evidence suggests human habitation of the continent by 50,000–60,000 years ago or even earlier. These first inhabitants of Australia were originally hunter-gatherer peoples, who over the course of many succeeding generations diversified widely throughout the continent and its nearby islands. Although their technical culture remained static—depending on wood, bone, and stone tools and weapons—their spiritual and social life was highly complex. Most spoke several languages, and confederacies sometimes linked widely scattered tribal groups. Aboriginal population density ranged from 1 person per square mile along the coasts to 1 person per 35 square miles in the arid interior. Food procurement was usually a matter for the nuclear family and was very demanding, since there was little large game, and outside of some communities in the more fertile south-east, they had no agriculture. See also, List of Indigenous Australian group names Indigenous Australians are the first human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. ... mtDNA-based chart of large human migrations. ... In anthropology, the hunter-gatherer way of life is that led by certain societies of the Neolithic Era based on the exploitation of wild plants and animals. ...

Australia may have been sighted by Portuguese sailors in 1601, and Dutch navigators landed on the forbidding coast of modern Western Australia several times during the 17th century. Captain James Cook claimed it for Great Britain in 1770. At that time, the native population was around half a million, divided in as many as 500 tribes speaking many different languages. The Aboriginal population currently numbers more than 300,000, representing about 1.7% of the population. Since the end of World War II, efforts have been made both by the government and by the public to be more responsive to Aboriginal rights and needs. Events February 8 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed February 25 - Robert Devereux beheaded Jesuit Matteo Ricci arrives in China Bad harvest in Russia due to rainy summer Dutch troops drive Portuguese from Málaga Battle of Kinsale, Ireland Births... Emblems: Floral - Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos manglesii); Mammal - Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus); Bird - Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) Motto: none Slogan or Nickname: Wildflower State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Const. ... James Cook, portrait by Nathaniel Dance, c. ... 1770 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

Today, many tribal Aborigines lead a settled traditional life in remote areas of northern, central, and western Australia. In the south, where most Aborigines are of mixed descent, most live in the cities.

Current Australia population trends

The trend of population growth in Australia. The rate of population growth increased following the discovery of gold in 1851 and following World War II.

Australia's population has grown from an estimated population of about 350,000 at the time of British Settlement in 1788 to a current population of nearly twenty-one million. This is largely as a result of overseas migration (see Australian Immigration). Australian population over time, data compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics [1] , graph made by User:Petaholmes File links The following pages link to this file: Australia Categories: GFDL images ... Australian population over time, data compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics [1] , graph made by User:Petaholmes File links The following pages link to this file: Australia Categories: GFDL images ... 1851 (MDCCCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Immigration to Australia began at least 40,000 years ago, when the ancestors of Australian Aborigines arrived via the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea. ...

Emigration now also plays a role in changing Australian demographics. The term, Australian diaspora, refers to the 850,000 Australian citizens who today live outside Australia. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

The current level of imigration, however remains far greater than the rate of emigration.

Although Australia has scarcely more than two persons per square kilometer of total land area, this raw figure is highly misleading: most of the continent is desert or semi-desert and of limited agricultural value. In consequence, Australia is one of the world's most urbanized countries: 91% of Australia's population lives in urban areas.

Religion and belief

Main article: Religion in Australia

In 1983, the High Court of Australia defined religion as a complex of beliefs and practices which point to a set of values and an understanding of the meaning of existence. Religion in Australia is predominantly Christian, although it is a highly secularised society. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

At the time of European settlement, the Aboriginal inhabitants followed their own religions which were animistic in nature, involving beliefs in spirits behind the forces of nature, and the influence of ancestral spirit beings.

During the 1800s, European settlers brought their traditional churches to Australia. These included the Church of England (now the Anglican Church), and the Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Baptist churches. The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation indepedently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ... A Baptist is a member of a Baptist church or any follower of Jesus Christ who believes that baptism is administered by the full immersion of a confessing Christian. ...

Section 116 of the 1900 Act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia (Australian Constitution) provides that:

The Commonwealth of Australia shall not make any law establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.

With the exception of a small but significant Lutheran population of Germanic descent, Australian society in 1901 was predominantly Anglo-Celtic, with 40% of the population being Anglican (then Church of England), 23% Catholic, 34% other Christian and about 1% professing non-Christian religions. The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ...

Further waves of migration helped to reshape the profile of Australia's religious affiliations over subsequent decades. The impact of migration from Europe in the aftermath of World War II led to increases in affiliates of the Orthodox Churches, the establishment of Reformed bodies, growth in the number of Catholics (largely from Italian migration) and Jews (Holocaust survivors), and the creation of ethnic parishes among many other denominations. More recently, immigration from South-East Asia and the Middle East has expanded Buddhist and Muslim numbers considerably, and increased the ethnic diversity of existing Christian denominations. Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ...

In response to the 2001 Census of Population and Housing question, Australians' stated religious affiliations were: 27% Catholic, 21% Anglican, 21% other Christian denominations and 5% non-Christian religions. 16% of all Australians stated they had no religion (Humanists, atheists, agnostics and rationalists), and the remainder did not adequately respond to the question to enable classification of their religion. The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... This article discusses Humanism as a non-theistic life stance. ... For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ... The term agnosticism and the related agnostic were coined by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1869. ... This article is not about continental rationalism. ...

A question on religious affiliation has been asked in every census taken in Australia, with the voluntary nature of this question having been specifically stated since 1933. In 1971, the instruction 'if no religion, write none' was introduced. This saw a seven-fold increase from the previous census year in the percentage of Australians stating they had no religion. Since 1971, this percentage has progressively increased to about 16% in 1996 and 2001. 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

References

This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook (2006 edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain. World Factbook 2004 cover The World Factbook is an annual publication by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with basic almanac-style information about the various countries of the world. ...

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 3101.0 Australian Demographic Statistics

See also : Australia, Education in Australia, List of cities in Australia, Culture of Australia, Immigration to Australia

Education in Australia follows a three tier model: primary, secondary and tertiary education. ... This is a list of cities in Australia, arranged by state: // Australian Capital Territory Canberra (National Capital) New South Wales See also: List of Sydney suburbs, Local Government Areas of New South Wales Northern Territory See also: Local Government Areas of the Northern Territory Darwin (Capital) Alice Springs Katherine Palmerston... The modern culture of Australia draws from many sources, including indigenous Australians, the United Kingdom, and the immigration of a diverse range of people with the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s, and post-World War II refugees from Britain and Europe. ... Immigration to Australia began at least 40,000 years ago, when the ancestors of Australian Aborigines arrived via the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea. ...

External links

• Current estimated resident population of Australia Australian Bureau of Statistics