Visualising Australia's older population using grid maps

Visualising Australia's older population using grid maps

In 2016, 15.7 percent of Australians were aged 65 or over (3.7 million out of a total population of 23.4 million; Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016). This national age structure is already without precedent while projections suggest this could reach 22 percent by 2057 (8.8 million; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2018). As such, these projections suggest that it will become increasingly challenging for all tiers of Australian government to fund the infrastructure and support services critical for the health and wellbeing of older Australians as they grow at a faster rate than the working age population (Parliamentary Budget Office 2019). There are four critical dimensions when examining population age structures, namely: (1) numbers; (2) characteristics and values; (3) proportions of the population in particular age groups; and (4) spatial distribution (Hugo 2003). In this DemoGraphic I focus on the latter two dimensions to identify where Australians aged 65 and over are most spatially concentrated.

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