Australia's population grew by 2.1 per cent in the year to 30 June 2024, according to the latest figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Beidar Cho, ABS head of demography, said: "Our population at 30 June 2024 was 27.2 million people, an increase of 552,000 people since the same time last year.

“There were 666,800 overseas migration arrivals and 221,200 departures. This means that 445,600 people were added to our population for the year to 30 June 2024, continuing a recent downward trend in net overseas migration."

Natural increase, which is made up of births and deaths, was 106,400 people, up 3.4 per cent from the previous year. There were 289,100 births and 182,700 deaths registered over the period, with births dropping 0.7 per cent and deaths falling 2.9 per cent.

“Western Australia had the fastest rise in population, growing 2.8 per cent in the last year. This was followed by Victoria, which grew by 2.4 per cent, and Queensland, which rose 2.3 per cent,” Ms Cho said.

Tasmania saw the least growth, with a 0.3 per cent rise in population over the period.