Net overseas migration recovers to 171,000 in 2021-22

Media Release

Released

16/12/2022

Source

Overseas Migration, 2021-22 financial year

Overseas migration contributed a net gain of 171,000 to Australia's population in the year ending 30 June 2022, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

In contrast, the 2020-21 financial year had seen a net loss of 85,000 people which represented the lowest level of net overseas migration since World War 1.

Jenny Dobak, ABS head of migration statistics, said: “Prior to the pandemic, more people would migrate to Australia, than would migrate away each year.

“While this pattern was interrupted in 2020-21 due to the impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions, we are seeing a return to this pre-pandemic migration pattern in 2021-22.”

Nationally, migrant arrivals rose 171 per cent when compared with last year (395,000 from 146,000), while migrant departures fell 3 per cent (224,000 from 231,000).

Net overseas migration – Australia – historical
	Net overseas migration ('000)	zero line ('000)
1861	-5.96	0
1862	8.30	0
1863	22.32	0
1864	31.55	0
1865	30.26	0
1866	23.95	0
1867	7.55	0
1868	17.96	0
1869	15.04	0
1870	15.92	0
1871	11.68	0
1872	3.04	0
1873	11.37	0
1874	17.12	0
1875	18.45	0
1876	25.08	0
1877	34.38	0
1878	21.60	0
1879	25.30	0
1880	23.77	0
1881	28.53	0
1882	37.86	0
1883	69.87	0
1884	51.07	0
1885	36.72	0
1886	38.70	0
1887	33.82	0
1888	38.93	0
1889	22.61	0
1890	24.64	0
1891	26.87	0
1892	-3.12	0
1893	-7.38	0
1894	3.16	0
1895	2.86	0
1896	6.55	0
1897	7.00	0
1898	-0.51	0
1899	-1.74	0
1900	-8.81	0
1901	2.96	0
1902	-4.29	0
1903	-9.88	0
1904	-2.98	0
1905	-2.60	0
1906	-5.05	0
1907	5.20	0
1908	5.44	0
1909	21.78	0
1910	29.91	0
1911	74.38	0
1912	91.89	0
1913	63.28	0
1914	-8.23	0
1915	-84.41	0
1916	-128.74	0
1917	-17.82	0
1918	23.36	0
1919	166.30	0
1920	27.61	0
1921	17.53	0
1922	40.16	0
1923	39.71	0
1924	46.07	0
1925	39.76	0
1926	42.28	0
1927	49.40	0
1928	28.86	0
1929	10.09	0
1930	-9.83	0
1931	-12.12	0
1932	-4.61	0
1933	-1.36	0
1934	-0.39	0
1935	1.25	0
1936	1.28	0
1937	5.08	0
1938	8.15	0
1939	12.53	0
1940	10.68	0
1941	5.14	0
1942	8.54	0
1943	1.59	0
1944	-1.76	0
1945	-3.27	0
1946	-11.59	0
1947	12.19	0
1948	48.47	0
1949	149.27	0
1950	153.69	0
1951	110.36	0
1952	97.45	0
1953	42.88	0
1954	68.57	0
1955	95.32	0
1956	102.11	0
1957	77.62	0
1958	64.88	0
1959	83.58	0
1960	92.78	0
1961	65.44	0
1962	64.64	0
1963	76.84	0
1964	104.00	0
1965	111.61	0
1966	95.93	0
1967	96.56	0
1968	123.45	0
1969	140.33	0
1970	138.38	0
1971	103.55	0
1972	75.67	0
1973	56.56	0
1974	82.93	0
1975	44.68	0
1976	21.24	0
1977	57.90	0
1978	62.72	0
1979	55.14	0
1980	75.94	0
1981	119.18	0
1982	128.12	0
1983	73.30	0
1984	49.10	0
1985	73.71	0
1986	100.36	0
1987	125.73	0
1988	149.34	0
1989	157.44	0
1990	124.65	0
1991	86.43	0
1992	68.58	0
1993	30.04	0
1994	46.55	0
1995	80.13	0
1996	104.14	0
1997	87.08	0
1998	79.16	0
1999	96.48	0
2000	107.28	0
2001	135.67	0
2002	110.56	0
2003	116.50	0
2004	99.97	0
2005	123.76	0
2006	146.75	0
2007	232.80	0
2008	277.34	0
2009	299.87	0
2010	196.06	0
2011	180.37	0
2012	231.95	0
2013	230.33	0
2014	187.78	0
2015	184.03	0
2016	206.23	0
2017	263.35	0
2018	238.22	0
2019	241.34	0
2020	192.70	0
2021	-84.94	0
2022	170.92	0

WWI
Great Depression
WWII
Start of post-war migration program
COVID-19 pandemic

Net overseas migration – Australia – historical

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Estimates from 1972 onwards are year ending June, prior to 1972 they are year ending December.
Estimates for 2021-22 are preliminary.

Each state and territory recorded an increase in population from migration in 2021-22. This marks a notable change from 2020-21 when each state and territory saw a population loss from negative net migration.

Net overseas migration – 2021-22 – largest to smallest gain of people

NSW 62,210
Vic. 55,630
Qld 23,430
SA 12,080
WA 9,500
ACT 3,120
Tas. 2,740
NT 2,130.

Migrant arrivals on temporary visas saw a large increase in 2021-22 when compared with 2020-21 (239,900 from 29,600). This increase has been largely driven by student visa holders. The number of people migrating to Australia on permanent visas also saw an increase in 2021-22 compared with 2020-21 (67,900 from 37,000).

Overseas migrant arrivals by visa groupings(a)
Visa groupings(b)		'000	'000	'000	'000
		2018-19	2020-21	2021-22	Annual change 2020-21 to 2021-22
Permanent visas
	Family	24.3	15.7	24.8	9.1
	Skilled (permanent)	38.2	14.6	27.2	12.6
	Special eligibility & humanitarian	15.3	0.6	7.3	6.8
	Other (permanent)	7.5	6.1	8.5	2.4
	Total permanent visas	85.4	37.0	67.9	30.9
Temporary visas
	Student - vocational education and training	22.6	0.1	20.0	19.8
	Student - higher education	111.3	0.7	96.9	96.2
	Student - other	30.4	0.7	20.1	19.5
	Skilled (temporary)	32.6	9.0	22.5	13.5
	Working holiday	49.1	1.0	13.5	12.5
	Visitors	91.2	7.7	39.0	31.3
	Other (temporary)	13.4	10.4	28.0	17.6
	Total temporary visas	350.7	29.6	239.9	210.3
New Zealand citizens (subclass 444)(c)		30.5	17.0	23.2	6.3
Australian citizens (no visa required)		78.9	61.4	61.2	-0.2
Total(d)		550.4	146.0	395.0	249.0

Estimates for 2021-22 are preliminary.
The visa at time of traveller's overseas migration arrival date. The number of visas here should not be confused with information on visas granted by the Department of Home Affairs as visas can be granted onshore.
Visa subclass 444 is granted to New Zealand citizens upon arrival in Australia if they have not already been granted another visa.
Includes unknown visas.

For more information see the ABS publication Overseas Migration 2021-22 .

For the latest quarterly migration estimates, see the ABS publication National, state and territory population.

For Australia's regional overseas migration estimates, see the ABS publication Regional population.

Media notes

Consistent with international definitions, a person is regarded by the ABS as a migrant to Australia if they have been, or are expected to be, residing in Australia for 12 months or more, regardless of their citizenship, type of visa, or legal status. That means these statistics will differ from information on the numbers of visas granted by the Department of Home Affairs.
When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au (8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri).
Subscribe to our media release notification service to get notified of ABS media releases or publications upon their release.

APA

Citation

Net overseas migration recovers to 171,000 in 2021-22

APA

Citation

Net overseas migration – 2021-22 – largest to smallest gain of people

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