do you think the population of Australia will increase in the more inner places like the outback?
as we use and develop technology to farm in those arid places
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Ferise1 · 46-50, M
That’s a really interesting question — and actually something a lot of demographers and planners are wondering too.
In short:
It’s unlikely that Australia’s population will boom in the deep interior (like the Outback), even with better farming tech — but we might see some limited growth around more “edge” inland hubs.
Here’s why:
✅ Technology helps — but only up to a point
• Advances like drought-resistant crops, solar power, and precision farming do make it more viable to use arid land productively.
• But farming alone usually isn’t enough to attract large numbers of people. Modern agriculture is highly automated, so it doesn’t create lots of jobs per square mile.
❌ Harsh liveability factors remain
• Extreme heat, remoteness, water scarcity, lack of services, and distance from the coast are still major deterrents.
• People tend to move not just for work — but for lifestyle, education, healthcare, culture… all of which are harder to access in the deep Outback.
📈 Where growth is more likely
• Inland “regional centres” (like Toowoomba, Dubbo, Mildura, Alice Springs, Kalgoorlie, etc.) could see some increase as technology and remote work improve.
• These places aren’t in the traditional southeast coastal strip — but they’re still connected enough to survive and grow gradually.
• In other words: growth around the “edges of the Outback”, rather than in the middle of nowhere.
📊 Population trend in Australia overall
• Australia is one of the most urbanised countries on Earth — around 90% live in cities, and that percentage has actually been climbing.
• People continue to cluster in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and a few coastal regions.
🌵 Conclusion:
Technology will probably make the Outback more “usable”… but not necessarily more inhabited.
Expect gradual expansion of existing inland towns — not a sudden boom deep in the desert.
Would you like me to show a map of where Australia’s population is projected to grow, or dig into which technologies might change that over the next 50 years?
In short:
It’s unlikely that Australia’s population will boom in the deep interior (like the Outback), even with better farming tech — but we might see some limited growth around more “edge” inland hubs.
Here’s why:
✅ Technology helps — but only up to a point
• Advances like drought-resistant crops, solar power, and precision farming do make it more viable to use arid land productively.
• But farming alone usually isn’t enough to attract large numbers of people. Modern agriculture is highly automated, so it doesn’t create lots of jobs per square mile.
❌ Harsh liveability factors remain
• Extreme heat, remoteness, water scarcity, lack of services, and distance from the coast are still major deterrents.
• People tend to move not just for work — but for lifestyle, education, healthcare, culture… all of which are harder to access in the deep Outback.
📈 Where growth is more likely
• Inland “regional centres” (like Toowoomba, Dubbo, Mildura, Alice Springs, Kalgoorlie, etc.) could see some increase as technology and remote work improve.
• These places aren’t in the traditional southeast coastal strip — but they’re still connected enough to survive and grow gradually.
• In other words: growth around the “edges of the Outback”, rather than in the middle of nowhere.
📊 Population trend in Australia overall
• Australia is one of the most urbanised countries on Earth — around 90% live in cities, and that percentage has actually been climbing.
• People continue to cluster in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and a few coastal regions.
🌵 Conclusion:
Technology will probably make the Outback more “usable”… but not necessarily more inhabited.
Expect gradual expansion of existing inland towns — not a sudden boom deep in the desert.
Would you like me to show a map of where Australia’s population is projected to grow, or dig into which technologies might change that over the next 50 years?