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Western Australia is now the fastest-growing state in Australia, rising 2.27% in 2022 – but Queensland, which grew 2.22%, made the biggest gains from interstate migration.
Australia’s population reached 26,268,359 in December 2022, with a yearly increase of 496,800 people or 1.9%. This surge was primarily due to high overseas migration, making it the largest population increase ever recorded in a calendar year. The growth rate of 1.9% is not a record, however – higher rates were seen in 2009 and after World War II, although those were based on smaller populations.
Migration plays a vital role in Australia’s growth, as evident during the pandemic when closed borders resulted in record low growth. In 2022, there were 387,000 net migrants, accounting for 78% of the total growth, while the remaining 22% was due to “natural increase” (births minus deaths).
NSW continues to lose migrants to Queensland but at a slower rate than during the pandemic, impacting Queensland’s growth. WA reclaims its position as the fastest-growing state, adding over 62,000 people in 2022. Victoria reverses its decline, with a growth rate of 2.1% driven by record overseas migration.
South Australia is growing strongly, nearly balancing net interstate migration and seeing a record 24,000 overseas migrants. Tasmania maintains steady growth at 0.5%, returning to a small interstate migration loss after attracting migrants during the pandemic.
Other data shows the fastest growth rates in 2022 and the past five years have occurred in regional cities, rather than capital cities.
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