New figures show more than a quarter of Australia's population was born overseas.

The Bureau of Statistics says almost six million migrants from more than 200 countries lived in Australia in June last year.

The largest number were born in the United Kingdom, with 1.2 million people.

The next largest group was born in New Zealand with 500,000 people, followed by China and India.

Over the past decade, however, the proportion of those born in the UK has dipped slightly, while numbers of people born in New Zealand, China and India rose.

Most migrants settled in New South Wales, followed by Victoria and Queensland.

And in 2008-09, the net influx of international students reached a record high of 122,000, contributing 27 per cent to Australia's total population growth for the year.

Most students were from India, China and Nepal.