(KPL/Xinhua) Net migration to Australia fell by over 30 percent in 2024, driving the country's population growth to a three-year low.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday released official figures showing that Australia's national population grew by 1.7 percent, or 445,900 people, in 2024 to 27.4 million.

It represents a fall from 2023 when Australia's population grew by 2.4 percent and the lowest growth rate for a calendar year since 2021 when Australia's international borders were closed.

According to ABS figures, the fall in population growth between 2023 and 2024 was entirely driven by a sharp decline in Australia's net migrant intake.

It said that approximately 594,900 people migrated to Australia from overseas in 2024 and 254,200 people departed, resulting in net overseas migration of 340,750.

That marked a fall of 35.7 percent from 2023 when net overseas migration added 530,620 people to the Australian population.

The ABS said that international arrivals were 19.5 percent lower in 2024 than in 2023 and departures increased by 22 percent.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's governing Labor Party in May 2024 set a target of reducing Australia's net migration intake to 260,000 in the 2024-25 financial year, which ends on June 30, in a bid to ease pressure on housing supply.

Natural increase added 105,200 people to the Australian population in 2024, the ABS said, with approximately 292,400 births and 187,300 deaths.

KPL