(MSN Learning & Research, 1993).
Australia has seen some disturbing trends since the first half of the 20th century; Australians have been having smaller and smaller families. This is reflected in a fall in the proportion of children (aged under 15) within the population from 35% in 1901 to around 21% in 2001. Another trend is the aging of the population; the number of people aged 65 and over has increased, from 4% in 1901 to 12% in 2001. Even though these trends don't seem to have much of an effect now, they could become a problem in the future of steady population growth if they continue. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2000).
RACE.
Aboriginal people were the first people to live in Australia and made up the original Australian culture. After the first British colonies were established, the majority of the people who migrated to Australia were from the Europe. This time represented a big change in the Australian culture. Since World War II, the population has started to become more ethnically diversified, as people from a wider range of countries have started to migrate to Australia. People born in other countries increased from 10 % in 1947 to 24 % in 2000. In 1947, 81 % of new arrivals came from Europe. Lately people from other parts of the world have started to move to Australia, making another change in the cultural make up of the country. From 1995 to 2000, people from New Zealand constituted 18% of the total immigration; those from the United Kingdom 11 %; China 8 %; the former Yugoslavia 7 %; South Africa 5 %; and India 4 %. These six countries represented about 53 % of total immigration during those years. After the early 1970s the immigration from Asian countries began to increase. In 1999-2000 Asian-born people made up 34 % of all immigrants migrating to Australia. (MSN Learning & Research, 1993).
Currently people of European descent make up about 91 % of Australia's population.