Dementia was responsible for nearly 17,400 deaths in 2023 – 9.5% of all deaths – overtaking coronary heart disease for the first time, new data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows.

While the Government does not collect data on exact numbers of people living with dementia, the AIHW's Dementia in Australia report estimates there were 425,000 people living with the disease in Australian in 2024. For those aged 85-89, it’s estimated more than one in five are living with dementia.

The AIHW estimates the number of Australians living with dementia will climb 2.5-times over the next 40 years, surpassing more than one million by 2065.

The trend is already reshaping aged care and retirement living. The number of retirement village residents living with dementia is rising – but aged care providers are increasingly being forced to turn away seniors with high dementia care needs.

In 2021-22, 54% of aged care residents were living with dementia. Today, a significant share of the 2,500 patients stuck in hospitals nationwide waiting for an aged care bed are also affected.