Demographics of Australia

The population of Australia is estimated to be as of . Australia is the 55th most populous country in the world and the most populous Oceanian country. Its population is concentrated mainly in urban areas, particularly on the Eastern, South Eastern and Southern seaboards, and is expected to exceed 30 million by 2029. Australia's population has grown from an estimated population of between 300,000 and 1,000,000 Indigenous Australians at the time of British colonisation in 1788 due to numerous waves of immigration during the period since. Also due to immigration, the European component's share of the population rose sharply in the late 18th and 19th centuries, but is now declining as a percentage. Australia has an average population density of persons per square kilometre of total land area, which makes it one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. This is generally attributed to the semi-arid and desert geography of much of the interior of the country. Another factor is urbanisation, with 89% of its population living in a handful of urban areas, Australia is one of the world's most urbanised countries. The life expectancy of Australia in 2015–2017 was 83.2 years, among the highest in the world. List of cities in Australia by population and List of cities in Australia Australia contains five cities (including their suburbs) that consist of over one million people. Most of Australia's population live close to coastlines. Australians The earliest accepted timeline for the first arrivals of Indigenous Australians to the continent of Australia places this human migration to at least 65,000 years ago, most probably from the islands of Indonesia and New Guinea. Captain James Cook claimed the east coast for Great Britain in 1770; the west coast was later settled by Britain also. At that time, the indigenous population was estimated to have been between 315,000 and 750,000, divided into as many as 500 tribes speaking many different languages.