Annual Population Change
The preliminary estimated resident population (ERP) of Australia at 31 March 2019 was 25,287,400 people. This is an increase of 388,800 people since 31 March 2018 and 118,600 people since 31 December 2018.
The annual population growth rate for the year ended 31 March 2019 was 1.6%.
Annual population growth rate (a)(b), Australia
(a) Annual growth rate calculated at the end of each quarter. (b) All data to 30 June 2016 is final. Estimates thereafter are preliminary.
Components of population change
The growth of Australia's population is comprised of natural increase (the number of births minus the number of deaths) and net overseas migration (NOM).
The contribution to population growth for the year ended 31 March 2019 was higher from NOM (64.2%) than from natural increase (35.8%).
Components of annual population growth (a)(b), Australia
(a) Annual components calculated at the end of each quarter.
Natural increase
The preliminary estimate of natural increase for the year ended 31 March 2019 was 139,100 people, a decrease of 2.2%, or 3,200 people, compared with natural increase for the year ended 31 March 2018 (142,300 people).
Births
The preliminary estimate of births for the year ended 31 March 2019 (298,100 births) was lower by 6,900 births from the year ended 31 March 2018 (305,000 births).
Deaths
The preliminary estimate of deaths for the year ended 31 March 2019 (159,000 deaths) was lower by 3,800 deaths from the year ended 31 March 2018 (162,700 deaths).
Net overseas migration
For the year ended 31 March 2019, Australia's preliminary net overseas migration (NOM) estimate was 249,700 people. This was 4.9% (11,700 people) higher than the net overseas migration estimated for the year ended 31 March 2018 (238,000 people).
NOM arrivals increased by 1.4% (7,500 people) between the years ended 31 March 2018 (527,200 people) and 31 March 2019 (534,700 people).
NOM departures decreased by 1.4% (4,200 people) between the years ended 31 March 2018 (289,200 people) and 31 March 2019 (285,100 people).
The preliminary NOM estimate for the March quarter 2019 (86,600 people) was 1.7% (1,500 people) higher than the March quarter 2018 (85,100 people).
States and territories
At the state and territory level, population growth has three main components: natural increase, net overseas migration (NOM) and net interstate migration (NIM).
Although majority of states and territories experienced positive population growth in the year ended 31 March 2019, the proportion that each of these components contributed to population growth varied between the states and territories.
For the year ended 31 March 2019, natural increase was the major contributor to population change in Western Australia. Net interstate migration loss was the largest component of population change in the Northern Territory. NOM was the major contributor to population change in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.
NIM gains occurred in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory. All other states and territories recorded net interstate migration losses.
Natural increase
Births
Compared with the previous year, the total number of births registered for the year ended 31 March 2019 decreased in most of the states and territories.
The largest percentage decrease was recorded in Victoria at 8.9%, see explanatory note 11. This was followed by Western Australia (4.5%), The Northern Territory (3.1%), Tasmania (0.7%), Queensland (0.5%) and South Australia (0.1%).
The most significant increase was recorded in New South Wales at 2.1% followed by the Australian Capital Territory (1.4%).
For more information, see table 10.
Deaths
The total number of deaths registered for the year ended 31 March 2019 decreased in most of the states and territories.
Tasmania recorded the largest percentage decrease at 6.8%. This was followed by Victoria (5.9%), New South Wales (1.8%), Queensland (1.4%) and South Australia (0.8%).
Increases were recorded in all remaining states, the largest being Western Australia at 2.8% followed by the Northern Territory (1.9%) and the Australian Capital Territory (1.8%).
For more information, see table 11.
Preliminary estimates of births and deaths are subject to fluctuations caused by lags or accumulations in the reporting of birth and death registrations (for more information see Explanatory Notes 10-11).
Net overseas migration
NOM decreased the most in the Northern Territory (41.9%), followed by the Australian Capital Territory (16.6%) and New South Wales (1.7%).
The largest increase was in Western Australia (42.7%) followed by Queensland (27.9%), Tasmania (18.6%), South Australia (8.4%) and Victoria (0.5%). For more information, see table 13.
NOM arrivals
The number of NOM arrivals for the year ended 31 March 2019 increased in Tasmania (14.7%), Queensland (4.2%), South Australia (4.0%), Western Australia (3.0%) and Victoria (2.5%).
The largest percentage decrease in NOM arrivals was recorded in the Northern Territory at 6.9%. This was followed by the Australian Capital Territory (4.2%) and New South Wales (1.2%). For more information, see table 13.
NOM departures
Compared with the previous year, the number of NOM departures for the year ended 31 March 2019 increased in Tasmania (10.4%), Victoria (4.9%) the Australian Capital Territory (4.6%) and the Northern Territory (2.2%).
The largest percentage decrease was recorded in Western Australia at 10.6%. This was followed by Queensland (7.1%), South Australia (0.9%) and New South Wales (0.7%). For more information, see table 13.
Net interstate migration
In the year ended 31 March 2019, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania recorded net interstate migration gains. Queensland had the highest net gain with 23,300 people. This was followed by Victoria (12,800 people) and Tasmania (2,300 people). Net losses from interstate migration were recorded in New South Wales (22,000 people), Western Australia (8,000), the Northern Territory (4,300 people) and South Australia (4,000 people). The Australian Capital Territory experienced no net change. For more information, see table 14.
Annual interstate migration – arrivals, departures and net
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