Australia’s population officially surpassed 27 million this year with overseas migrants primarily driving the growth, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The ABS said Australia’s population climbed 2.3 per cent in the 12 months to March 31, increasing by 615,300 people.
Migration arrivals drove most of the population boom despite intake dipping from 559,000 in September last year to 509,800 in March.
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In addition, there were 289,700 births and 184,200 deaths registered in Australia.
ABS head of demography Beidar Cho said Australia’s population was now at 27.1 million.
“Net overseas migration drove 83 per cent of this population growth, while births and deaths, known as natural increase, made up the other 17 per cent,” Cho said.
The ABS said the state that saw the fastest annual population growth was WA, which saw an annual average growth rate of 3.1 per cent.
This was followed by Victoria, which increased by 2.7 per cent, and Queensland, which grew by 2.5 per cent.
Tasmania and the Northern Territory saw the lowest increase at 0.4 and 0.8 respectively.
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