Australia’s Population Surges by Half a Million in a Year Despite Low Birth Rate

Migrant arrivals outnumber births 2 to 1 as population grows.

People walking down the busy Queen Street Mall in the Brisbane CBD in Queensland, Australia on March 29, 2021. Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Australia’s population has grown by more than half a million people in just 12 months, with the nation recording twice as many migrant arrivals than local births.

A total of 666,800 new migrants entered Australia in the past year to June 30, while 221,200 individuals left the country.