Australian population swells to nearly 27 million people in 2023

Australia’s population grew by a record 624,100 people in the past year, and one state was more popular than others for overseas arrivals.

Australia’s population surged to 26.6 million people in the year to the end of June, according to new data, with a population rise fuelled by a record influx in overseas immigration.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows the country’s population grew by 2.4 per cent this year, welcoming a record 624,100 residents in the past 12 months.

While the annual natural increase was at 106,100 people, it was outstripped by a boom in net overseas migration, with more than 737,000 people arriving in the country.

NSW remained the most popular Australian destination for overseas migrants, with more than 174,000 people flocking to the state. Victoria was next, with a net migration rate of 154,256 people, ahead of Queensland and South Australia.

Temporary migration has jumped sharply over the past year. Picture: Nicki Connolly/NCA NewsWire.

“People arriving on temporary visas, such as international students, were the main contributor to the arrivals, with the number of departures remaining low as the cycle of arrivals and departures have not yet returned to typical pre-pandemic patterns,” ABS head of demography Beidar Cho said.

Tasmania and the Northern Territory attracted the least interest from foreign-born residents, with a net migration rate of 4032 and 3335 this year, respectively.

Tasmania also had the slowest population growth in Australia this year, with only a 0.3 per cent increase from 2022.

Western Australia recorded the fastest population rise by percentage, growing by 3.1 per cent to 2.9 million people. This was followed by Victoria, which grew by 2.7 per cent to a record 6.8 million residents.

Australia also recorded a 3.6 per cent jump nationwide in the number of registered deaths and a 4.1 per cent fall in births.

November data from the bureau forecast Australia’s population to reach up to 45.9 million people by 2071.