THE ACT’s population will have grown from 375,000 people to 586,000 by 2040, according to  the latest statistics. 

The report, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today, shows the ACT could overtake Tasmania’s population by 2038.

Melbourne and Sydney are expected to be “neck and neck” by 2053, with 7.9 million people each.

The population of the Northern Territory is projected to grow from 240,000 people in 2012 to 360,000 people in 2040 (a 51 per cent increase), Victoria 5.6 million to 8.4 million (50 per cent), New South Wales 7.3 million to 9.9 million (35 per cent), South Australia 1.7 million to 2.1 million (26 per cent) and Tasmania 510,000 to 570,000 (11 per cent). Tasmania’s population is projected to level out by around 2040 and then fall slightly from 2047 onwards.

As a whole, Australia’s population is expected to double to 46 million by as early as 2058.

Population projections are based on assumptions of future levels of fertility, life expectancy and migration, which are guided by recent population trends.

“The ageing of Australia’s population as a result of sustained low fertility, combined with increasing life expectancy is likely to continue. In 2012 Australia’s median age was 37 years old; by 2040 it could be 40.5 years.” says Director of Demography, Bjorn Jarvis.

In addition, the number of people 65 and over is projected to double, from 3.2 million people, (14 percent of the population) in 2012 to 6.8 million (20 percent) by 2040.

Similarly, the number of people aged 85 years and over is projected to almost triple by 2040, increasing by 770,000 people to reach 1.2 million in 2040. By then, people aged 85 years or over will make up four per cent of Australia’s population, compared to only two per cent in 2012.