Australia's population in 2000: the way we are and the ways we might have been

Abstract

This article examines the impact of post-war migration, the post-war baby boom, and the improvement in the life expectancy since the 1960s on Australia’s current age structure. It shows that, contrary to frequently expressed opinion, the post-war migration program has had only a minor ‘younging’ effect far less in fact than the baby boom. On the other hand, the increase in life expectancy since the 1960s has significantly increased the share of Australia’s population over 50.