Source: Xinhua| 2019-12-19 16:25:28|Editor: zh

Video Player Close

CANBERRA, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia's population grew 1.5 percent to 25.4 million people in the 12 months to June 2019, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday.

ABS Demography Director Beidar Cho said the population at June 30, 2019 was 25.4 million people, following an annual increase of 381,600 people.

Net overseas migration, which is calculated by subtracting departures from arrivals, accounted for 62.5 percent of the growth, with natural increase accounting for the rest.

There were 303,900 birth and 160,600 deaths in the 12 month period, resulting in a natural increase of 143,300, 0.5 percent more than the previous year.

Victoria was Australia's fastest-growing state, with its population growing 2.1 percent to 6.59 million.

The government in September revealed its plan to ease the rapid population growth in Melbourne and Sydney by encouraging new migrants to settle outside of major cities.