New findings have shown South Australia to be missing out on a population boom sweeping across Australia, and being enjoyed by states such as Queensland and Western Australia in particular.
A report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for the year ending in June 2013 has shown Australia’s population growth rate to have reached 1.8%, compared with the global average of 1.2%.
The figures show net overseas migration (NOM) to be the greatest cause for the boom, contributing 60% of the increase, compared to 40% through natural increase.
However, whilst all states and territories recorded increases in net overseas migration (NOM) figures compared with the previous year, South Australia recorded the smallest percentage increase of all the states, receiving only an extra 2.2% (500 people) for the year.
South Australia was also one of the few states to record a loss through Net Interstate Migration, with 4,200 leaving the state in the year ending June 2013.
‘I believe that something is very, very wrong with these figures. South Australia is a great state, a great place to live and work and a safe and secure environment to raise a family with outstanding educational facilities,’ says Migration Solutions Managing Director, Mark Glazbrook.
‘The fact that population growth in South Australia remains so low and slow over such a long period at a time where national population growth is booming indicates that more needs to be done to attract and retain skilled migrants to increase our population and bolster economic growth – providing long term economic prosperity for all South Australians – increase population creates more jobs and training opportunities.’
The data shows Australia’s population growth rate to have surpassed countries such as Canada, New Zealand, the United States, China, France and the United Kingdom, but still trails Singapore (2.0%) and Papua New Guinea (2.2%).
Overall, Australia received a net increase of 244,400 migrants for the year, 8.6% higher than the estimated figure for the previous year.
