Australia's population will hit 24 million on Tuesday - 17 years earlier than official predictions made at the turn of the century.

An up-tick in the fertility rate, greater longevity and robust net migration has driven the faster-than-expected arrival at this population milestone.

When the Bureau of Statistics' population clock reaches 24 million at 12.51am on Tuesday the nation will have added its latest million in record time – it is just 2 years, 9 months and 2 days since 23 million ticked over. During the second half of last century it took around four-and-a-half years to add each million people.

Private sector demographer Mark McCrindle said Australia's faster than anticipated population growth helps explain public frustration about traffic gridlock and crowded trains.