WA’S population is growing at its fastest pace in three years as the mass migration of residents to other parts of the country abates and locals swell Perth to more than two million residents.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the State added 21,400 people last year to a record 2.6 million residents.

The last time the State’s population grew by more than 20,000 was in 2014 as the mining boom was starting to wind down.

For the first time, the bureau’s measure of Perth’s population topped two million. Its broader measure of Greater Perth, which includes Mandurah, has been above two million for more than two years.

Net overseas migration, traditionally a major source of WA’s population growth, peaked at 50,000 in 2011-12 before sliding sharply as the boom ended. In 2017, it increased to 14,209, the first increase in the annual rate in more than five years.

At the height of the boom, WA attracted thousands of people from other parts of the nation. This has reversed but now the rate of decrease has turned, with the number of people heading for other States and Territories falling over the past 12 months.

Commonwealth Bank senior economist Kristina Clifton noted the drop-off in WA’s growth had ended.

“Population growth is picking up in WA, although it still remains relatively low,” she said. “While people are still leaving WA for other States, the pace of departure is slowing.”

Nationally, Melbourne is closing on Sydney as Australia’s most populous city.

There are 64,000 more people in Sydney, with a population of 4.7 million, than in Melbourne. In 2011, there were 215,000 more Sydneysiders. Melbourne’s faster growth rate means it is likely to reclaim the title of Australia’s biggest city by the turn of the decade.

Victoria is the fastest-growing State, adding more than 143,000 residents last year. The ACT is approaching Victoria’s growth rate while Tasmania is increasing faster than WA.

The Northern Territory growth rate is almost flat.