Interstate migration boosts ACT’s population

Australia immigration

Interstate migration boosts ACT’s population

June 22, 2014, The ACT population grew by 1.7 percent last year, with 384,100 people now calling the ACT home, according to research by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The additional 6100 people in the territory was driven by a 63 percent increase of interstate migration to the capital city during the final quarter of 2013 – the largest quarterly increase since December 2010. Births accounted for just 874 additional people in Canberra during the December quarter, which was a 77 percent drop on the previous quarter and a 12 percent increase in December figures in 2012.

Visit Canberra deputy director Jonathan Kobus said the increasing number of tourists visiting Canberra during the centenary year encouraged people to migrate to the territory.

"Last year resulted in a significant increase in people travelling through the ACT as the result of a very strong calendar of events related to the centenary and major sporting events," he said.

"There were certainly a lot more reasons for people from interstate to visit the territory during 2013 and this encouraged people to think differently about life in the capital."

All states and territories recorded population growth last year, with Western Australia recording the greatest increase at 2.9 percent.

The national population grew by 1.7 percent last year to 23.3 million people – an increase of almost 400,000 people. Natural increase accounted for 40 percent of Australia's population growth with the remaining 60 percent coming from overseas migration.

New South Wales recorded its fastest population growth rate in five years with a 1.5 percent increase (110,000 people), which is 18 percent higher than the five-year state average.

Overseas migration was the main contributor to NSW's population growth and accounted for 30 percent of Australia's total overseas migration last year.

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