Population profile of older Australians
The Australian population is ageing. Over the past century, the proportion of older Australians has grown and this trend is predicted to continue. Sustained low fertility rates, falling death rates, higher standards of healthcare, and increasing life expectancy have all influenced the ageing population trend for Australia (ABS 2018a).
The number and proportion of Australians who are aged 55 and over have been increasing over recent decades, and are expected to continue to grow (ABS 2019a).
In 1978, there were around 2.6 million Australians aged 55 and over (18% of the total Australian population) (Figure 1). By 1988, this had increased to 3.3 million (20% of the population) and by 2018 the numbers had further increased to 6.8 million older Australians (27% of the population) (ABS 2019b).