Everybody knows Australia has a rapidly ageing population, but new data shows just how large that population will get in the coming decades.
A pair of demographers from the University of Melbourne has just released an interesting data projection based on results from the 2021 census, and it finds the Australian population aged 65 and over is growing fast.
The number of Aussies aged 65 and over is projected to grow by 54 per cent, from around 4.31 million now to 6.66 million, by 2041, while those aged 85 and over are expected to increase by an even more impressive 140 per cent by 2041, with numbers rising from 534,000 in 2021 to 1.28 million.
However, the fastest growing cohort is the 100-plus bracket. The number of Australians receiving letters from the Queen (well, probably King by then) will increase by 200 per cent by 2041.
“The largest proportional growth is expected at the oldest ages. The centenarian population, which means those aged 100 and over, will grow at an even faster rate – increasing by 200 per cent from 5,300 in 2021 to 15,900 by 2041,” said Dr Tom Wilson, CEPAR Principal Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne.
The data projection was developed by Dr Wilson and Associate Professor Jeromey Temple on behalf of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research, or CEPAR; if you want to have a look at the numbers yourself, you can download the data projection from CEPAR here.
The figures are clear: with Australia’s aged care system already under strain, this demographic shift is something that will need to be addressed sooner rather than later.
