Immigration was falling before COVID-19

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Late last week, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its Australian Demographic Statistics for the December quarter of 2019, which revealed that Australia’s population continues to grow strongly despite a meaningful reduction in net overseas migration (NOM).

According to the ABS, Australia’s population rose by 1.4% in the 2019 calendar year, around the 38-year average in percentage terms:

However, in number terms Australia’s population swelled by 349,900 in the 2019 calendar year, way above the 38-year average of 275,000:

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.