Australia’s population has officially passed 27 million, with Queenslanders now making up more than 5.5 million.
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show the nation’s population grew by 2.3 percent to 27.1 million people in March 2024.
ABS Head of Demography Beidar Cho said Australia’s population on March 31 this was 615,300 more than at the same time last year.
Ms Cho said net overseas migration drove 83 percent of the population growth, while births and deaths, known as natural increase, made up the other 17 percent.
She said annual net overseas migration in the year to March 2024 was 509,800 people, down from a peak of 559,900 in September 2023.
“Natural increase was 105,500 people in the year ending March 2024, made up of 289,700 births and 184,200 deaths registered in Australia.”
That data showed Western Australia had the fastest growing population, up 3.1 percent, followed by Victoria, which grew by 2.7 percent, and Queensland, which grew by 2.5 percent.
Queensland’s population at March 31 was 5.56 million, up more than 134,000 over the previous 12 months.
