Australia: Population and Key Statistics

OceaniaCapital: Canberra#36 by population

Australia is the only country that occupies an entire continent on its own: just 26.7 million people live across its 7.7 million square kilometers, most of them clustered in coastal cities. With income per capita above $67,000, it ranks among the wealthiest countries in the world.

The world's largest exporter of iron ore and its largest lithium producer, Australia counts China as its most important trading partner. It grew for 29 consecutive years from 1991 to 2020 — a record among advanced economies — and consistently places near the top of quality-of-life indexes.

Population (2025)
27.6 million
27,614,411 people
GDP (2025)
$1,799bn
nominal, current US dollars
GDP per capita
$65,130
Life expectancy
83.1
years
Area
7,741,220
km²
Population density
4
people/km²
Median age
38.1
Internet usage
96.1%

Military Strength

Military expenditure (2024)
$33.8bn
33,820 million dollars
Share of GDP
1.88%
NATO guideline: 2%
Share of government spending
4.96%
Spending per capita
$1,225
per year, per person
Armed forces (2020)
60 thousand
60,000 active personnel
Armed forces per 1,000 people
2.2
0.44% of the labor force

Expenditure figures come from SIPRI and personnel counts from the IISS, both distributed through the World Bank. Source years differ by indicator, so each figure is shown with its own year.

How Australia compares

Australia and New Zealand — core indicators
020 b40 b60 b80 bGDP per capita ($)Life expectancy (years)Internet usage (%)GDP per capita ($) — Australia: 65.130Life expectancy (years) — Australia: 83,1Internet usage (%) — Australia: 96,1GDP per capita ($) — New Zealand: 49.591Life expectancy (years) — New Zealand: 82Internet usage (%) — New Zealand: 93,5
AustraliaNew Zealand

The indicators use different scales, so the chart is a rough visual comparison only. For exact figures see the full side-by-side comparison.

Data sourcesPopulation and social indicators: UN World Population Prospects, World BankEconomy: IMF World Economic Outlook, World BankMilitary: SIPRI and IISS, distributed through the World BankLast refreshed: 2026-08-26