Australia's economy tipped to become 11th biggest in the world

The lights of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge can be seen before they were switched off for Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia, March 19, 2016. Reuters/David Gray

One decade from today, the Australian economy could become the 11th biggest in the world. The forecast is primarily due to the growing population.

The surge in population would propel the country to become the world's 11th biggest economy, predicts a new report. That means Australia, from its current ranking of 13, will advance two places on the world economic league table by 2026.

This is according to a forecast by the Centre for Economics and Business Research from London. The centre also forecasted that China could replace the United States as the world’s biggest economy in 2030.

The report says that nations relying on brainpower to push their economies will generally outshine those that depend on natural resources. The economic growth in Australia has been driven by resources in the past years. But the centre also stressed that it has become one of the most popular countries globally when it comes to inward migration.

Specifically, it is the country’s intake of migrants with highly sought-after skills that would help push growth in the coming years. According to the centre’s World Economic League Table for 2018, growing population means Australia is forecast to rise from 13th largest in 2017 to the 11th largest economy in 2026.

The table also says that investment in urban infrastructure will have to accelerate as the population grows. Energy prices will drop in the next 25 years amid a considerable increase in the use of renewable for power generation as well as the growth of energy supplies from the racking.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research's report states that countries will need creative workers with the digital revolution set to power the global economy through to 2032. One of the best ways to achieve this is through migration.

The 2015-2016 financial year has seen Australia taking just under 190,000 permanent migrants. Many of them are skilled.

While population growth is tipped to push the economy forward, some think Australia does not need any more people. Three quarters of Australians believe the nation doesn’t need more migrants while almost half of them back up a partial ban on Muslims migrants, a survey published by the Australian Population Research Institute in October shows.

It is believed that the findings were driven by the impact of population growth on the quality of life. It may also have something to do with the brisk change in the country’s ethnic and religious make-up.