Australia's population grows by 392,700 in a year, driven by overseas migration

HouGarden Australia, 17 September — The increase represents an annual growth rate of 1.4 per cent, a figure that covers the full year from 31 March 2025 to 31 March 2026 and should not be read as a monthly or quarterly measure.

Bjorn Jarvis, head of population statistics at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), said net overseas migration accounted for 292,100 of those additional people — roughly 74 per cent of the total gain. That net figure is derived by subtracting the 265,400 people who left Australia during the period from the 557,500 people who arrived from overseas, leaving a net inflow of 292,100.

'Our population was 27.9 million people at 31 March 2026, that's 392,700 more than the same time in 2025,' Mr Jarvis said.

The remaining growth came from natural increase — births minus deaths — which contributed 100,600 people. Mr Jarvis noted that both births and deaths rose over the year, with births up 0.3 per cent and deaths up 3.1 per cent.

Net overseas migration of 292,100 was lower than the 309,500 recorded in the previous 12-month period. Arrivals from overseas fell 4 per cent year-on-year, while departures dropped 2.2 per cent, meaning outflows eased at a slower rate than inflows.

ABS data covering the past two decades show that annual population change collapsed in early 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut international borders. The figure climbed back sharply, peaking in September 2023, and has since been on a gradual return toward pre-pandemic norms.

Every state and territory recorded population growth in the year to March 2026. Western Australia posted the fastest rate at 2.1 per cent, equivalent to 64,200 additional residents. Tasmania grew most slowly, adding 3,400 people for a rate of 0.6 per cent. In absolute terms, the two states are not directly comparable: New South Wales has a far larger population base and received the greatest number of overseas migrants in the period, while Tasmania and the Northern Territory attracted the fewest.

This report covers Australian national population statistics published by the ABS. It has no direct bearing on New Zealand property markets. Editors note that, from a trans-Tasman perspective, sustained strong population growth in Australia provides a reference point for competition over skilled migrants and labour flows between the two countries — but that connection is an analytical observation, not a finding of the ABS data itself.