Australia's Population Will Hit 25 Million Today

This population clock on the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ website adds around 1,000 people every day, each day of the year. And at some point today, it will roll over to 25 million.

Last year Australia gained 388,000 new humans, with 62 percent of them migrating from overseas. Only 38 percent were a result of residents having children here, minus the amount of people who had died.

And all this might sound a bit scary because you know, we’re trashing the planet, but Australia's population is actually far lower and growing far slower than most other developed nations.

The world’s most populous country is China, home to some 1.4 billion people. Last year they saw population growth of 5.5 million, which is a slightly larger crowd than all of Sydney. Then in the second spot is India, with 1.3 billion people. They’re forecast to produce 26.7 million new babies this year, which is far more than our entire population.

Meanwhile, in Australia, it took us nearly 50 years to double our population, with the 1971 census recording a total tally just under 13 million. However, having said that, things are speeding up. Australia’s latest million was added in just 2.5 years—a new record from the previous million which took just two years and nine months.

So who are all these new people? According to journalist and political commentator, George Megalogenis, most new arrivals are likely to be young female students or skilled workers from either China or India. "The two biggest migrant groups in Australia are Chinese and Indians since the turn of the 21st century," he told the ABC. "Last time that happened was in the gold rushes of the 1850s.”