Australia's population has crossed the one million mark and continues to grow at an average rate of one person every 50 seconds. Some demographers warn that this demographic milestone means that the housing crisis will intensify.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' population clock showed at around 3.45pm this Wednesday (January 24) that the population had surged to 27 million.
According to the Australian News Agency, Australia's population has surged as the number of births and migrants exceeds the number of deaths and residents leaving Australia.
Last year, Australia's population grew by 624,100 people, an increase of 2.4%, of which 518,100 were net overseas immigrants, with a natural increase of 106,100.
The statistics office predicts that the population will reach 29.2 million to 30.8 million by 2032 and 34.3 million to 45.9 million by 2071.
This projection is based on an average annual population growth of 1.2 to 1.7 percent by June 2032.
The estimate of 27 million people is based on the national population size as of June 30 last year (26,638,544 people) and the projected increase of one person born every 1 minute and 42 seconds.
In addition, the Bureau of Statistics assumes that every 2 minutes and 52 seconds a person dies and every 45 seconds a migrant comes to live in Australia. The Bureau of Statistics estimates that every 2 minutes and 43 seconds, someone leaves Australia.
On 30 June 2022, Australia's population was about 26 million, with the Bureau of Statistics estimating that 18.3 million residents were born in Australia and 7.7 million were born overseas.
Mark McCrindle, a demographer and futurist who heads market research firm McCrindle Research, said the milestone went beyond modelling and could mean an intensification of housing problems. In fact, this record population growth comes at a time when infrastructure bottlenecks are occurring. ”
One data shows that young Australians are moving away from buying a home, with more than 70% of people under the age of 30 revealing that they are more willing to spend money on travel than buying a home.
New data from travel insurance provider InsureandGo shows that two-thirds of millennials and Gen Z are choosing to travel rather than buy a home this year.
According to PropTrack, after a year of growth in house prices in Australia's major state capitals, the median house price in Australia reached a record $762,000, and the median house price in Sydney reached $1.065 million.
Rising home prices have exacerbated pressure on first-time homebuyers who are already strapped for cash, and their homeownership rates have fallen to a decade low, according to real estate website realestate.com.au.
Jonathan Etkind, chief commercial officer at InsureandGo, said that for more and more young people, owning their own home is becoming a luxury, and InsureandGo's research shows that this has a huge impact on their spending habits.
"When forced to choose between high mortgages and travel experiences, millennials and Gen Z Australians opted for the latter, which is largely a response to the housing crisis," he said. ”
"This trend has been fuelled by the explosion of 'experience culture' over the past decade, with young Australians moving away from spending money on 'things' in favour of creating memories. ”
InsureandGo found that 81 per cent of Australians over the age of 50 own a property, compared to 45 per cent of Australians aged 18 to 30 and 75 per cent of Australians aged 31 to 50.
InsureandGo data shows that 25- to 30-year-olds are less likely to own a home in every generation, with travel driving an increase in Australian household spending last year.
The average mortgage loan amount in Australia is now $599,000, which equates to about $4,234 in monthly repayments, while the average Australian spent $974 on a single holiday in the year leading up to September last year.
"I think the pandemic has also played a role in these trends," Ettkind said. "For many of us, staying at home for long periods of time between 2019 and 2021 and not being able to travel inspired some very eager to travel. ”
"Coupled with soaring house prices, the younger generation of Australians may have to rethink this beautiful Australian dream. ”
Post-pandemic migration surge According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, although there were 295,900 births and 189,900 deaths in the past 12 months, which is not much different from the historical average, immigration has caused a surge in Australia's population, with 737,200 overseas arrivals and 219,100 departures, accounting for 80% of the growth.
This increase is equivalent to adding one person every 50 seconds. If this rate of growth continues, it may take less than two years to break the next million mark, reaching the milestone of 28 million by August 2025.
NSW and Victoria are Australia's fastest-growing states, surpassing Queensland during the pandemic. "That's when we decided to step up [immigration] efforts," McLean said. ”
"Now, the post-pandemic catch-up has resumed in about four months, so we've made up for that (labor) loss. ”
Looking to the future, he said: "Trying to strike a balance between natural growth and immigration" "We need new newborns, we need young people in the population and the long-term stimulus they bring." He said it was vital for Australia to return to "sustainable" population growth.