10.4225/03/590bf118d89ee Wilson, Tom Tom Wilson The new intergenerational report's population projection and the uncertainty of Australia's demographic future Monash University 2017 Population growth journal article monash:64187 1959.1/481801 1039-4788 population statistics Intergenerational report 2017-05-05 03:27:19 Journal contribution https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/journal_contribution/The_new_intergenerational_report_s_population_projection_and_the_uncertainty_of_Australia_s_demographic_future/4975706 Recently it was announced that the population projection to be included as part of the next Intergenerational Report places Australia’s population at a little over 35 million by 2049. Much media discussion has followed this announcement, a great deal of it concentrating on how the nation should plan for this coming population growth. A number of commentators, at least implicitly, appear to accept the projection as the true population of Australia at mid-century. This paper argues that the size of Australia’s population in 40 years time is in fact subject to considerable uncertainty. It provides some indications of the magnitude of this uncertainty, outlines reasons why it exists, and recommends the use of probabilistic methods for future projections. Copyright. Monash University and the author/s