In a recent report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), it stated that the Australia's population will increase to 46 million in 2075 from 23 million in 2013.

ABS based its prediction through assumptions on the future levels of fertility, life expectancy and migration which were guided by recent population trends.

"Based on our projections, with medium growth, Australia will double its population by the year 2075. 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," said Bjorn Jarvis, Director of Demography at the ABS.

Key Points of the Report:

  • Melbourne and Sydney should be neck and neck by 2053, with 7.9 million people each.
  • By 2040, Western Australia's population is projected to almost double in size, from 2.4 million people in 2012 to 4.7 million.
  • Queensland will have gone from 4.6 million people to 7.3 million
  • 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),
  • South Australia 1.7 million to 2.1 million (26 per cent)
  • Tasmania 510,000 to 570,000 (11 per cent) Tasmania's population is projected to level out by around 2040 and then fall slightly from 2047 onwards.

In an interview with ABC's PM program, Mr Jarvis explained why the predicted bloat on Australian population should be a cause of concern for the Aussies.

"It's really up to the population to plan for change but also to think about what this changing population means. So what size population does Australia want, what compositional characteristics would Australia like to have in a future population, and then start to plan around what the Australian population, what the Australian people, would like to see going into the future," Mr Jarvis said.