World Factbook
Australia
Commonwealth of Australia
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
English 72%, Mandarin 2.7%, Arabic 1.4%, Vietnamese 1.3%, Cantonese 1.2%, other 15.7%, unspecified 5.7% (2021 est.)
note: data represent language spoken at home
Religions
Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant 18.1% (Anglican 9.8%, Uniting Church 2.6%, Presbyterian and Reformed 1.6%, Baptist 1.4%, Pentecostal 1%, other Protestant 1.7%), other Christian 3.5%, Muslim 3.2%, Hindu 2.7%, Buddhist 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3% (Eastern Orthodox 2.1%, Oriental Orthodox 0.2%), other 2.1%, none 38.4%, unspecified 7.3% (2021 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.01 male(s)/female
total population
0.99 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.85 male(s)/female
Birth rate
10.75 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6.81 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
36.9 years
total
38.5 years (2025 est.)
female
39.2 years
Population
male
13,685,935
total
27,490,921 (2025 est.)
female
13,804,986
Nationality
noun
Australian(s)
adjective
Australian
Tobacco use
male
13.6% (2025 est.)
total
11.4% (2025 est.)
female
9.2% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
note
note: data include Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island
urban population
86.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
18.3% (male 2,526,772/female 2,369,425)
15-64 years
64.7% (male 8,688,023/female 8,640,671)
65 years and over
17% (2024 est.) (male 2,090,315/female 2,453,392)
Ethnic groups
English 33%, Australian 29.9%, Irish 9.5%, Scottish 8.6%, Chinese 5.5%, Italian 4.4%, German 4%, Indian 3.1%, Australian Aboriginal 2.9%, Greek 1.7%, unspecified 4.7% (2021 est.)
note: data represent self-identified ancestry, with the option of reporting two ancestries
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
53.3 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
26.7 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
3.8 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
26.5 (2025 est.)
Physician density
4.09 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
10.5% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
20.2% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
11.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
3.8 beds/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.5 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
5.1% of GDP (2022 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
12.7% national budget (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
3.2 deaths/1,000 live births
total
3 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
2.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
1.59% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.73 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
population is primarily located on the periphery, with the highest concentration of people residing in the east and southeast; a secondary population center is located in and around Perth in the west; of the states and territories, New South Wales has, by far, the largest population; the interior, or "outback," has a very sparse population
Life expectancy at birth
male
81.3 years
female
85.7 years
total population
83.5 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
2 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
3.71 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
3.67 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
9.51 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
1.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.81 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
5.235 million Melbourne, 5.121 million Sydney, 2.505 million Brisbane, 2.118 million Perth, 1.367 million Adelaide, 472,000 CANBERRA (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
29% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
28.7 years (2019 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
54% (2021 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
20 years (2023 est.)
total
21 years (2023 est.)
female
21 years (2023 est.)