Australia’s population grew last year at its fastest rate since 2008, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The population increased by 1.9 per cent – or 496,800 people – in the 12 months to 31 December 2022 to reach 26.3 million people. Overseas migration was the biggest driver of growth, exceeding pre-COVID levels.
There were 619,600 overseas migration arrivals and 232,600 departures last year, resulting in a net boost to Australia’s population of 387,000 people.
ABS head of demography Beidar Cho said the recovery of international student arrivals was driving the net overseas migration rate to “historic highs”.
On the other hand, overseas departures were “lagging behind levels typically seen over the past decade”, she said.
“This pattern is expected to continue as international students return following the reopening of international borders, however there are fewer students ready to depart because very few arrived during the pandemic,” Ms Cho said in a statement.
There were 300,700 births and 190,900 deaths recorded during 2022, with deaths increasing by 11.1 per cent and births decreasing by 4.6 per cent.
It resulted in a natural population increase of 109,800 people – a 23.4 per cent drop from 2021.
The main contributor to the increased number of deaths was COVID-19 mortality.
Which states and territories are people leaving and where for?
Bumper overseas arrivals saw the population of every state and territory experience net growth in 2022, but several lost more residents to interstate migration than they gained.
NSW had the highest number of residents move to other parts of the country, with 121,071 people leaving the state last year.
Fewer than 90,000 interstate arrivals were recorded moving in to take their place.
Victoria, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and ACT also recorded falls in net interstate migration, with Victoria seeing a drop of nearly 10,000 and the ACT 1,228.
Three states had a net increase in interstate migration over the same time period.
Queensland had the largest change, with 34,545 people moving to the sunshine state. South Australia gained 670 interstate people, and WA recorded 10,593.
While Australians were leaving NSW, the state saw a massive influx of overseas migrants, with a net increase of 134,602.
