Australia Has Biggest Population Increase for 20 Years
January 1st, 2009 | Published in Immigration
This year has seen Australia’s population grow at its fastest pace since 1989.
The country’s population reached 21.4 million in 30 June 2008, an increase of 1.7% or 359,000 people in one year.
Immigration (arrivals minus departures) contributed 213,500 people (or 59% of growth) and natural increase (births minus deaths) contributed 145,500 (41%) to the rise in numbers, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Surprisingly, New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, experienced lower growth than any other state except Tasmania.
Western Australia continues to record the fastest population growth (2.7%), followed by Queensland and the Northern Territory (2.3%), Victoria (1.8%), the Australian Capital Territory (1.3%), South Australia and New South Wales (1.1%) and Tasmania (1.0%) for the year ended June 2008.
Population Increases in Australia’s States 2008:
| State | Population (millions) | Population Increase (thousands) |
| Queensland | 4.2794 | 98.0 |
| Victoria | 5.2976 | 92.7 |
| New South Wales | 6.9672 | 79.2 |
| Western Australia | 2.1632 | 57.1 |
| South Australia | 1.6018 | 17.6 |
| Northern Territory | 0.2199 | 5.0 |
| Tasmania | 0.4982 | 4.8 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 0.3442 | 4.5 |
Queensland and Western Australia Favourites With Australians
Queensland and Western Australia received the most people from net interstate migration, gaining 23,100 and 3,800 people respectively from the other states and territories. The states that lost the most people to net interstate migration include New South Wales (down 21,900), South Australia (down 4,400) and Victoria (down 2,500).
Australia’s total fertility rate has increased to 1.93 births per woman, the highest rate since 1981.