Should Australia’s population grow to more than 35 million people by the middle of the 21st century? The 2010 Intergenerational Report sparked a controversy over its suggestion that we are heading for a ‘Big Australia’ in the coming decades.

This report looks behind the headline figures to highlight potential outcomes based on different assumptions about fertility, longevity and migration. It shows the wide variety of potential population outcomes and why Australia should start preparing itself for both population growth and population ageing. It also reveals how little control governments have over the variables of demography.