Australia has experienced one of the fastest population growths in its history, adding 1 million people to its numbers in the past two years alone.
Tomorrow, the country is set to welcome its 24 millionth citizen to its ranks, a milestone that experts in 1999 predicted won't happen for at least until 2033.
To celebrate this historic achievement, here are a few facts on how the people from the Land Down Under were able to reach this point in such a short period of time and how it stands to affect the future of the country.
Australia's Population Grows As Fast As The Rest Of The World
The population growth that Australia has gone through over the past few years can be considered fast, but it isn't something out of the ordinary. In fact, this latest development reflects that of the world's own population growth over the years.
In 1968, Australia recorded a population of about 12 million people. This means that the country was able to double the number of its citizens in just 48 years.
By comparison, the number of people on Earth in 1970 was roughly half of its current population of 7.3 billion. It took the world about 46 years to go through a doubling of its own population.
About one-third of all Australians right now have seen both Australia's and the world's populations double during their lifetimes.
Australia Reaches 24 million Ahead Of Schedule
On Aug. 18, 1999, the population of Australia was able to hit 19 million. Experts forecasted that the country will not reach a national population of 24 million until 2033 based on available population increase factors at that time. They believe Australia will add a million new citizens every seven to nine years.
Instead of following this estimated rate of growth, Australia added an extra million people to its population every three years. The number increased from 21 million to 25 million within eight years and eight months.
Australia's Population Is Still Relatively Small On The World Scale
Reaching a population of 24 million people is already significant on Australia's national scale, but the number is still small, especially when compared to those of other countries. The United States, for example, has a population of 323 million people.
On an international scale, Australia occupies only 0.32 percent of the world's population.
The Sources Of Australia's Population Growth
According to the latest census data and population growth, one new Australian is born for every one minute and 44 seconds, while another dies every three minutes and 24 seconds. One person also migrates to the country every two minutes and 39 seconds.
In all, Australia adds one new person to its national population every one minute and 31 seconds.
Photo: Katie Tegtmeyer | Flickr
