Migration surge: Australia’s population jumps by half a million
Australia recorded the largest annual population increase in the nation’s history after two Covid-affected years, despite a rise in the number of deaths and a drop-off in births.
It was the year Australia grew by almost half a million people, recording the largest annual population increase in the nation’s history despite a rise in the number of deaths and a drop-off in births.
A surge in migration in 2022 after two Covid-affected years pushed Australia’s population up by 497,756 to 26.27 million people, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics year-end data, released on Thursday.
The migration jump pushed population growth to 1.93 per cent, the highest since 2008.
With the vast majority of Covid lockdowns and restrictions removed by the start of 2022, Australia recorded a surge in deaths to 191,000, up from 172,000 the year before and 165,000 in the last pre-Covid year, 2019.
The ABS said Covid mortality was the main contributor to the increase in deaths. Covid claimed 14,794 lives from January 1 to December 30, according to publicly available health department data, up from 1330 in 2021.
The number of births meanwhile dropped to 300,700, down 14,500 on the year before.
The surge in deaths and the drop-off in births resulted in an annual natural increase of just 109,800, the lowest since 1981, the earliest year for which the ABS publishes data on this measure. Natural increase peaked at 162,700 in 2013.
Overseas migration surged in 2022 after two years affected by closed borders, recording a net gain of 387,700. In total, 619,600 people migrated to Australia, while 232,600 left.
ABS head of demography Beidar Cho said the recovery of international student arrivals was driving net overseas migration to historic highs, while departures were “lagging behind levels typically seen over the past decade”.
“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.
Western Australia was the fastest-growing of the states and territories, lifting its population by 2.3 per cent, followed by Queensland (2.2 per cent) and Victoria (2.1 per cent).
NSW and Victoria continue to record a net loss of people to other states and territories, down 31,560 and 9955 people respectively, while Queensland had a net interstate gain of 34,545 people.