The situation is little better north of the Murray River,with NSW’s population growing by 0.4 per cent,or 35,600,to 8.1 million. The last time the country’s most populous state had such a low rate of growth was in 1975.
Like Victoria,NSW continues to lose residents to other parts of the country with almost 19,000 moving interstate. The few migrants coming into Australia are heading to NSW,with a net increase of 11,500 last year.
The rest of its population profile has been made up by natural increases,with births outnumbering deaths by 43,000.
Queensland’s population is the fastest growing in the country,up by 1.1 per cent,or 58,100,to almost 5.2 million. More than half of that growth was from people moving out of Victoria and NSW.
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Western Australia’s population growth was also boosted by interstate migrants,with the state recording the first quarterly back-to-back increase since the end of the mining construction boom in 2013.
Interstate movement,however,dropped nationally by almost 11 per cent amid signs the pandemic has forced people to abandon plans to shift around the country.
The federal government’s Centre for Population said there were 161,000 deaths last year,5700 fewer than in 2019.
“This decrease could in part be a result of pandemic-related restrictions,social distancing and better hygiene practices,” it said.
There are also no signs of a COVID-19 baby boom,with the number of babies born last year down 3.9 per cent to a 13-year low of 294,400. It was the biggest drop in babies since the recession year of 1982.
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Another change caused by the pandemic has been in the nation’s demographic profile,with Australians on average getting older.
While the overall population grew by 0.5 per cent,the number of people aged between 15 and 29 fell by 2.3 per cent. Through 2018 it increased by 1.2 per cent.
The biggest impact has been on those aged between 20 and 24 – many of whom are international students – with the number in this cohort falling by 3.9 per cent in 2020.
While young people are fewer on the ground,the number of those in retirement years is growing. The proportion of over-60s increased by 3.2 per cent last year,above its five-year average growth rate of 3 per cent.
Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison said the figures were a wake-up call,warning reduced population growth would be a major economic constraint.
“Reduced population growth should be the cause of great concern for all governments as it will quickly become a handbrake on our national and state economies,” he said. “We would need to a tripling of babies born in Australia to negate this massive fall in overseas migration.”
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