High rates of population growth are putting pressure on parts of Sydney, according to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, as a federal government report reveals migrants account for more than 70 per cent of new residents across a swathe of the city.

The vast majority of new arrivals in Ryde, North Sydney, Hornsby, the eastern suburbs, Parramatta and the suburbs around Bankstown and Hurstville over the past two decades were born overseas, according to the Shaping the Nation report. China, India, Korea, Hong Kong and Nepal were the top five countries contributing migrants to these areas.

High rates of population growth are straining parts of Sydney, according to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Credit:AAP

"It is becoming increasingly clear that the current high rates of population growth are putting even more pressure on NSW, particularly in some suburbs," Ms Berejiklian said. "We need to look at encouraging people to consider living in different parts of Sydney, the surrounding regions and in regional NSW."

After migrants from China, the second-highest proportion of new arrivals to the eastern suburbs and North Sydney and Hornsby came from England, while Iran was one of the top sources of migrants moving to Ryde, according to the 2016 census.