The demographics of Australia covers basic statistics, most populous cities, ethnicity and religion. The population of Australia is estimated to be 22,196,162 as of 22 March 2010. Australia is the 51st most populous country in the world. Its population is concentrated mainly in urban areas.
Australia’s population has grown from an estimated population of about 350,000 at the time of British settlement in 1788 due to numerous waves of immigration during the period since. Also due to immigration, the European component of the population is declining as a percentage, as it is in many other Western countries.
Although Australia has scarcely more than two persons per square kilometre of total land area, this raw figure is highly misleading: most of the continent is desert or semi-desert and of limited agricultural value. Consequently, Australia is one of the world’s most urbanized countries with an urban population of 89%.
The life expectancy of Australia in 1999-2001 was 79.7 years, among the highest in the world.
Most of the estimated 22 million Australians are descended from colonial-era settlers and post-Federation immigrants from Europe, with almost 90% of the population being of European descent. For generations, the vast majority of immigrants came from the British Isles, and the people of Australia are still mainly of British or Irish ethnic origin. In the 2006 Australian census, the most commonly nominated ancestry was Australian (37.13%), followed by English (31.65%), Irish (9.08%), Scottish (7.56%), Italian (4.29%), German (4.09%), Chinese (3.37%), and Greek (1.84%).
Australia’s population has quadrupled since the end of World War I,[87] spurred by an ambitious immigration program. Following World War II and through to 2000, almost 5.9 million of the total population settled in the country as new immigrants, meaning that nearly two out of every seven Australians were born overseas. Most immigrants are skilled, but the immigration quota includes categories for family members and refugees.
Auckland