Hypertension in Australia

In 2022, based on the latest available data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) National Health Survey (NHS), of adults aged 18 and over (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023):

• 39% were estimated to have hypertension, approximately 7.2 million adults
• similar proportions of males (40%) and females (39%) were estimated to have hypertension.

Among adults with hypertension, 63% did not self-report the condition, indicating that these people may have been unaware they had hypertension (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023). It should be noted that self-reported hypertension underestimates the true prevalence in the population, as hypertension often presents with no symptoms. Self-report is influenced by an individual’s awareness and knowledge of the condition as well as recall ability, interpretation of the survey question and willingness to report.

Variation by age and sex

The prevalence of hypertension increased with age, from 7.0% among adults aged 18–24 to 85% among those aged 75 and over. This pattern was seen in both males and females (Figure 1).

Trends over time

After adjusting for changes in the age structure of the population across time periods, the proportion of people with hypertension remained similar between 2011–12 and 2017–18 (Figure 2).

In 2022, medications data for ABS NHS respondents were obtained through linking survey data with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Due to this difference in collection of medications data compared with previous surveys, the measure of hypertension in 2022 is considered a break in series and should be compared with caution to data from previous years. For more information, see Technical notes.

High measured blood pressure

In 2022–24, based on measured data from the ABS National Health Measures Survey (NHMS), of adults aged 18 and over (AIHW analysis of ABS 2025):

• 24% were estimated to have high measured blood pressure (this does not include those with controlled blood pressure and taking antihypertensive medications)
• more males (25%) than females (22%) had high measured blood pressure.

After adjusting for age differences in the populations, there has been no change in the proportion of adults with high measured blood pressure from 2011–12 to 2022-24 (22% and 24%, respectively) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2013 and 2025).

Systolic blood pressure measures the pressure of blood against the artery walls when the heart beats. Diastolic blood pressure measures the pressure of blood against the artery walls when the heart is at rest between beats. A higher systolic (≥140 mmHg) or diastolic (≥90 mmHg) reading can be used to diagnose hypertension. However, a higher systolic blood pressure reading indicates a high risk of heart disease for older people.

Based on measured data from the ABS 2022–24 NHMS, systolic blood pressure was distributed differently among males and females, with males having higher average systolic blood pressure than females. These differences could be due to different lifestyle factors between men and women, such as higher prevalence of tobacco smoking in males, as well as biomedical risk factors such as higher prevalence of overweight and obesity in males. However, there is evidence that systolic blood pressure can rise during or after menopause in women and could be equal or greater than that for men of the same age (Connelly et al 2022; Li et al 2024).

Diastolic blood pressure was similar for males and females (Figure 3).