POPULATION IN AUSTRALIA
It is a common feature to see hordes of people thronging the streets or clogging major passageways, especially in highly urbanized cities, most especially in countries where the standard of living is good. These populations are a mix of the old and young, foreign and local and transient or permanent residents.
Australia is not an exception when it comes to such a large population, and there are many reasons for this. Australia doesn’t rank among the top ten most populated countries in the world, as a matter of fact, it holds the position as the 227th most populous nations in the world ahead of countries like Namibia and western Sahara and below nations French Guiana, Iceland and Suriname.
It is common to find countries with large landmasses but smaller population sizes, but for Australia, it is much more different, because it has a landmass almost proportional to her population size.
The question most people always ask is this, did Australia become suddenly populous or its population has increased with time?
Slow and steady is the best phrase to describe the growth rate of Australia. Although two major forces are responsible for it, less than two percent annual growth rate, one is being celebrated by the populace, and the other is being frowned at. The increase in the birth rate is being celebrated while the rise in migration is being frowned at. Australia’s population has increased in recent times because of recent migration into the country due to high labor demand in her different industries and lesser rates of emigration (which means more people are visiting Australia than those leaving Australia). Its population rose from four million at the turn of the century to eighteen million in the years before the dawn of the millennium. As the millennium unfolded, in the early 2000s, she was a nation of 19,000 people, this figure is a leap from the number of inhabitants of this commonwealth nation which was once colonized by Britain, built after America’s architecture, and occupied by people from all corners of the world. Australia is a nation of aborigines, half of who are Christians and the other 30 percent who identify as having no form of religion at all while less than 10 percent are either Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs. Sydney is the largest city in this kangaroo dominated country of Australia with about 4 million living in the city famous for the landmark Sydney harbor, well-lit night skies, and gleaming skyscrapers and it is one of the cities most of the over 400,000 migrants in Australia opted for, because of the opportunities the city presents. Other highly populated cities include Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and of course the capital, Canberra. There is so much prospect for Australians with most of the population living in her major cities aged younger than 40. This city of 25 million people is expected to hit the 30 million mark in a couple of years’ time.
