Baby Boomers Turn 65!

The first Aussies born into the Baby Boomer generation (in 1946-47) have turned 65, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The Director of ABS Demography, Bjorn Jarvis, said this is a significant milestone for the first Baby Boomers and it raises the question of what the future holds for this large group of people. “Will they continue working, retire, travel or something else?”

As at June 30, 2012 there were 249,800 people aged 65, which was 37,500 more than the number of people aged 65 in June 2011, according to the latest figures from the ABS.

The Bureau’s quarterly estimates of Australia's population also showed a 1.6 per cent growth for the year ending 30 June 2012, a level not seen for three years.

"After two years of decline we are now seeing a rise in net overseas migration which is driving population growth back to levels last seen in 2009." Jarvis said.

Australia's population has increased by 359,600 to reach 22.7 million for the year ending June 2012. Net overseas migration accounted for 58 per cent of this growth, with the remaining 42 per cent due to natural increase (births minus deaths).

Natural increase remained steady with 297,800 births in the year ending June 2012, which is 0.4 per cent more than the previous year. The same time period saw 146,500 deaths, which is 0.2 per cent higher than the previous year.

Migration added 208,300 people to the population – 22 per cent higher than that for June 2011 (170,300 people). Western Australia claimed 23 per cent of Australia's total net overseas migration for the year ending 30 June 2012, compared with 18 per cent for the previous year.

"Western Australia continues to have the highest population growth in the country, with an increase of 78,000 people or 3.3 per cent, which is double the Australian average," Jarvis said.

"We're seeing Western Australia on the verge of breaking Queensland's record for highest interstate migration, with the state claiming the majority of the migration from Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory." 

The proportion of children under 14 decreased by 3 percentage points over the last 20 years while the proportion of people aged 15-64 years increased by 0.3 percentage points and the proportion of people aged 65 years and over increased by 2.7 percentage points.

"As we know, Australia's population is ageing, with Australia's median age increasing by 4.7 years over the past 20 years, from 32.7 in 1992 to 37.4 in 2012," Jarvis said.

In the 12 months to 30 June 2012, all states and territories, except for Western Australia, recorded an increase in their median age. Tasmania recorded the highest median age (40.9 years) in 2012 and the Northern Territory the lowest (31.6 years).

See the latest population figures here.