Australian Property News

Australia's population growth rate puts on the brakes

Posted on Tuesday, December 21 2010 at 1:39 PM

Australia's population is increasing but the growth rate is decreasing.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show the nation's annual population growth rate slowed to 1.7 per cent in the year ending June 2010, while the population reached 22,342,000, increasing by 377,100 people. This is down from its peak growth rate of 2.2 per cent in the year ending June 2009 and is the lowest since the year ending March 2007.

Western Australia continued to record the fastest population growth rate at 2.2 per cent, followed by Queensland (two per cent), Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory (both 1.8 per cent), New South Wales and the Northern Territory (both 1.5 per cent), South Australia (1.2 per cent) and Tasmania (0.9 per cent). Net overseas migration accounted for 57 per cent of this growth, with the remaining 43 per cent due to natural increase, (births minus deaths). There were 302,200 births registered in the year ending June 2010, 1.7 per cent more than the previous year. The number of deaths registered over the same period was 140,600, 2.2 per cent fewer than the previous year. Australia's median age also increased by 4.8 years over the past 20 years, from 32.1 years on June 30, 1990 to 36.9 years in 2010.