This is a map of where 98% of Australians live

[img]https://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5edf8c106da6778d4e6b4ff3c703fa22?convert_to_webp=true[/img]

This is a map of where 98% of Canadians live

[img]https://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-526dfc4ed6fded70412ba2b713b9d85b?convert_to_webp=true[/img]

Australia's population is heavily concentrated in the coastal areas where the weather is relatively temperate. Canada's population is heavily concentrated along its southern border.

This is because much of the interior of Australia looks like this

[img]https://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-d3b6c516ed4ba26a5fa7af023b909300?convert_to_webp=true[/img]

and much of northern Canada looks like this

[img]https://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-c0b4fa48f2e9d6e7384d45d6ced489bf?convert_to_webp=true[/img]
[img]https://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-7e6f2024812d0fe93c1f5d38e3182ef9?convert_to_webp=true[/img]
[img]https://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-7e6f2024812d0fe93c1f5d38e3182ef9?convert_to_webp=true[/img]

The interior of Australia is incredibly hot and arid. Half of Australia gets less than 300mm of rainfall a year, similar to many North African countries in the Sahara, and can see temperatures as high 50 degrees Celsius. This puts much of Australia at a high risk of bushfires, sandstorms, droughts, and floods (deserts are prone to floods when it rains due to a lack of top soil).

Northern Canada is mostly tundra where not much more than moss and lichen can grow and may see snow year-round.

Once these massive unpopulated regions are accounted for, Australia and Canada don't seem so underpopulated. Relative to the amount of arable land available, the level of immigration to Australia and Canada has actually been very high.

**Culled directly from quora.com~ https://www.quora.com/Are-Australia-and-Canada-Under-Populated**

FYI underpopulation is not a number

Canada is freaking cold to hustle
Australia is too far ( end of the world )

zeezahbee:
Canada is freaking cold to hustle
Australia is too far ( end of the world )

I think that's not the answer to op question

zeezahbee:
Canada is freaking cold to hustle
Australia is too far ( end of the world )

Nigeria is very hot and very near to stay unemployed abi. leave that there. If na cold or distance, I don't care men

op, canada is over 20million while Australia is over 30M. how are they underpopulated?

Australia is lik 8 times the size of Nigeria with the population of Lagos alone. Canada is about 10 times the size of Nigeria and has the population of say Lagos+Kano.
Even if you take into consideration the Tundra and desert, it still seems underpopulated. Australia can handle 40m people (heck, Victoria or New South Wales alone can handle that) but for the sake of them not wanting to be over populated, 40m is a good figure
Canada on the other hand can handle at least 75m or 80m people without affecting their vast swathes of tundra. Ontario alone can easily handle halfthat figure (california about half the size of Ontario has almost 40m people thats bigger than the whole of Canada).
With the above figures, both countries will gain considerable weight in world politics

The same reason why the sahara is not habitable. The weather in those countries is either to cold or to hot.

They dont give birth to 12 children each like nigerians

Poster has answered his own questions. With regards to Canada, the habitable places are located in the south of the country. So cutting out the frozen north populated by polar bears doesn't really make it big after all. The population is just right.

RedCapChief:
I think the original poster has answered his own question. Most of these areas have terrible environmental conditions - Canada: intense cold; Australia: intense heat.
When you compare the population of Canada to its landmass, there is a huge gap.

That's why Canada and Australia have these funky immigration schemes that allow you to come over legally, populate their country and pay tax money in their coffers. If you are willing to live in Saskatchewan and hustle, then money will not be your problem.
The problem is that when these immigrants come, they flock to the same places as others - Toronto, Calgary et al.

truth.

RedCapChief:
I think the original poster has answered his own question. Most of these areas have terrible environmental conditions - Canada: intense cold; Australia: intense heat.
When you compare the population of Canada to its landmass, there is a huge gap.

That's why Canada and Australia have these funky immigration schemes that allow you to come over legally, populate their country and pay tax money in their coffers. If you are willing to live in Saskatchewan and hustle, then money will not be your problem.
The problem is that when these immigrants come, they flock to the same places as others - Toronto, Calgary et al.

tell us more

I won't say they're underpopulated. They just have too much land and opportunities abound in these countries.