Australia’s population grew by 1.6 per cent – new data reveals

Australia's population grew by 1.6 per cent in the 12 months to 30 September 2022, according to the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Beidar Cho, head of ABS Demography, said:

"Our population on 30 September 2022 is 26.1 million people after we recorded an increase of 418,500 people over the year.

That's 1.6%  growth, which is similar to what we saw in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

"Migrant arrivals have returned to similar levels to those prior to the pandemic but departures remain lower - mainly because there are fewer recently arrived temporary migrants, like international students, who are due to leave."

The natural increase was 114,800 people, a decrease of 18.1 per cent from the previous year.

There were 302,900 births and 188,000 deaths registered during this time, with deaths increasing by 10.8% mainly due to COVID-19 and births decreasing by 2.3%.

There were 536,900 overseas migration arrivals and 233,200 departures, resulting in Australia’s population growing by 303,700 people from overseas migration.

Regional population by age and sex

Some key statistics from the latest ABS data:

• The median age for capital cities (37.1 years) was younger than the rest of Australia (41.8).
• The youngest capital was Darwin with a median age of 34.5 years, while Adelaide was the oldest (39.3).
• Darwin was the only capital with more males than females.

For capital cities:

• People aged 20 to 44 years made up 37% of the combined capital city population, compared with 30% of the population in the rest of Australia.
• People aged 55 years and over made up a smaller proportion of the population in capital cities (26%) than in the rest of Australia (34%).
• The sex ratio in the combined capital cities was 98.2 males per 100 females, compared with 99.2 for the rest of Australia, indicating a higher share of females in the capitals.

New South Wales:

• Greater Sydney had a younger age distribution than the rest of New South Wales, reflecting the pattern of young adults moving to capital cities for education and work purposes.
• People aged 20 to 44 years made up 37% of Sydney's population, compared with 29% in the rest of the state.
• People aged 60 years or over made up 20% of Sydney's population, compared with 28% in the rest of New South Wales.

Victoria:

• Greater Melbourne had a younger age distribution than the rest of Victoria, as younger adults tend to migrate out of regional areas to pursue work and education in the capital city.
• People aged 20 to 44 years made up 38% of the population in Melbourne, compared with 29% in the rest of the state.
• There was a lower proportion of people aged 55 years and over in Melbourne (25%) than in the rest of Victoria (35%).

Queensland:

• Greater Brisbane had a higher proportion of its population aged 20 to 44 years (36%) than the rest of Queensland (31%), reflecting the pattern of young adults moving to capital cities for work and education purposes.
• In contrast, Brisbane had a lower proportion aged 55 years and over (25%) than the rest of the state (32%).

South Australia:

• Greater Adelaide had a younger age distribution than the rest of South Australia.
• People aged 20 to 44 years made up 34% of the population in Adelaide, compared with 26% in the rest of the state. This is indicative of young adults moving to the capital city for employment or education purposes.

Western Australia:

• Greater Perth had a higher proportion of its population aged 20 to 39 years (29%) than the rest of Western Australia (25%). This is consistent with young adults moving to the capital city for employment or education purposes.
• There was a lower proportion of people aged 55 years and over in Perth (27%) than in the rest of the state (30%).

Tasmania:

• Tasmania had a lower proportion of people aged 20 to 44 years (31%) than Australia as a whole (35%). This in part reflects young adults pursuing education and employment opportunities interstate.
• Tasmania also had a higher proportion of people aged 55 years and over (34%) than Australia (29%). This partly reflects a trend of adults in this age group moving into the state.

Northern Territory:

• A lower proportion of Greater Darwin's population was under 25 years of age (32%) compared with the rest of the Northern Territory (37%).
• Darwin had a higher proportion of people aged 25 years and over (68%) than the rest of the territory (63%).

Australian Capital Territory:

• The Australian Capital Territory had a younger age distribution than Australia as a whole, reflecting the number of young adults who move to the territory for education or employment.
• People aged 20 to 39 years accounted for 33% of the territory's population, compared with 28% of Australia's population.

About Michael Yardney Michael is a director of Metropole Property Strategists who help their clients grow, protect and pass on their wealth through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He's once again been voted Australia's leading property investment adviser and one of Australia's 50 most influential Thought Leaders. His opinions are regularly featured in the media.