Home / Population growth / Australia
Australia — Population growth
Population Growth (Annual %) for Australia, 1961–2025.
Latest value · 2025
1.53%
Population Growth (Annual %) · annual % · -23.0% since 1961
Population growth for Australia was 1.53% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 65 years, from 1961 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 3.38% in 1971. The lowest was 0.14% in 2021 (about 10.9× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.41% per year.
Australia ranks 69 of 217 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 32%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 0.64%, so Australia sits above it. It peaked in 1971 and has fallen 55% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 7%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
1.53%
First (1961)
1.99%
Change
-23.0%
Highest
3.38%
in 1971
Lowest
0.14%
in 2021
Average
1.52%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.41%
Years of data
65
Recent years
| Year | annual % |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.53% |
| 2024 | 1.98% |
| 2023 | 2.43% |
| 2022 | 1.29% |
| 2021 | 0.14% |
| 2020 | 1.23% |
| 2019 | 1.48% |
| 2018 | 1.5% |
| 2017 | 1.65% |
| 2016 | 1.56% |
| 2015 | 1.44% |
| 2014 | 1.49% |
Reading this correctly. Annual population growth rate. A negative value means the population shrank, usually through emigration or low birth rates. Figures are in annual %. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SP.POP.GROW — Population Growth (Annual %). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.