The latest net permanent and long-term arrivals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that 446,504 net migrants arrived in 2024, slightly less than the record 449,813 that arrived in 2023.
While net arrivals declined since March 2024 compared to 2023, each month in 2024 was higher than in the corresponding month in 2019 before the pandemic.
As a result, immigration into Australia remains at a historically high level.
The ABS’s Q4 2024 national accounts publication on Wednesday indicated that Australia’s population growth also remains at a historically high level.
By dividing aggregate GDP published in the ABS national accounts by per capita GDP, one may calculate Australia’s population growth through Q2 2024.
The chart below shows the quarterly change in Australia’s population, as implied by the national accounts.
Australia’s population grew by 139,177 in Q4 2024 (annualised rate of 556,708). It was also the second biggest Q4 population increase in history, behind 157,886 recorded in 2022.
In the 2024 calendar year, Australia’s population increased by 536,688. While this was slightly higher than Q3 2024 (530,920), it was well below the peak of 661,406 in the year to Q3 2023.
In growth rate terms, Australia’s population grew by 2.0% in 2024. This was up from 1.9% in the year to Q3 2024, but down from the peak of 2.5% in the Q3 2023 year.
Australia’s population growth remains historically high. This continues to pressure the rental market, which appears to have tightened recently.
