Australia vs New Zealand: population pyramids in 1956
AustraliaNew Zealand
Each bar is the share of the total population at that single year of age (men left, women right), so countries of different sizes can be compared.
Australia and New Zealand compared
In 1956, Australia has a population of 9.3 million and New Zealand 2.2 million; Australia is about 4.3 times the size of New Zealand.
The share aged 65 and over is 8.4% in Australia and 9.1% in New Zealand, 0.6 points higher in New Zealand. The median age is 30.1 years in Australia and 28.7 years in New Zealand.
The total fertility rate is 3.33 in Australia and 3.98 in New Zealand, both above the replacement level of about 2.1. Life expectancy at birth is 70.0 years in Australia and 70.7 years in New Zealand.
By 2050, the population of Australia is projected to grow by 247.6% and that of New Zealand to grow by 165.9% compared with 1956.
GDP per person is $65K in Australia (2025) and $50K in New Zealand (2025).
Key figures (1956)
| Australia | New Zealand | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 9.3 million | 2.2 million |
| Aged 0–14 | 29.2% | 31.4% |
| Aged 15–64 | 62.4% | 59.6% |
| Aged 65+ | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| Median age | 30.1 yrs | 28.7 yrs |
| Old-age dependency | 13.5 | 15.2 |
| Total fertility rate | 3.33 | 3.98 |
| Life expectancy | 70.0 yrs | 70.7 yrs |
| Population growth | +2.33% | +2.12% |
| Net migration (per year) | +94,085 | +9,171 |
| GDP | $1.8T (2025) | $264B (2025) |
| GDP per person | $65K (2025) | $50K (2025) |
| Unemployment | 4.1% (2025) | 5.1% (2025) |
Economic figures are the latest year published for each country.