The population of regional, rural and remote Australia is on track to hit ten million, with new data showing an ongoing migration away from major capital cities.
Analysis from the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures shows regional Australia’s population grew from 9.78 million in 2023 to 9.91 million in 2024 – a 1.3 per cent rise in 12 months and a 6.3 per cent increase since 2019.
RAI CEO Liz Ritchie said the latest figures confirm a long-term shift in migration patterns.
“Australia’s migration patterns are changing and more people are choosing a life beyond the boundaries of our largest cities,” she said.
“This new data proves that trend has retained momentum and is a sustained migration pattern, rather than a short-lived effect of the global pandemic.”
While net overseas migration accounted for the largest share of growth (55.4 per cent), internal migration from capital cities contributed nearly 30 per cent – a 29.3 per cent increase on the previous year. Natural increases made up 15.6 per cent.
The population rise was recorded across all four of the RAI’s Regional Typologies. Regional Cities (populations over 50,000) recorded the largest growth since 2019 at 7.4 per cent, while Connected Lifestyle Regions – smaller areas near metropolitan centres – grew 9.1 per cent, outpacing metropolitan Australia’s 7.9 per cent growth over the same period.
“Regional Australia has undergone a staggering transformation over the last 25 years,” Ritchie said.
“As a country, we must acknowledge the regions of today are vastly different to the regions of yesterday.”
The RAI attributes much of the sustained growth to the changing appeal of regional areas and ongoing demand for skilled workers in critical sectors.
In February alone, more than 65,000 jobs were advertised across regional, rural and remote Australia.
“With regional birth rates declining, we need the support of overseas migrants to fill these jobs both now, and in the future,” Ritchie said.
“Migrants have played an important role in regional Australia’s history and will continue to do so in the decades to come.”
Despite the strong growth, the regional share of total overseas arrivals remains modest at 16.7 per cent.
The RAI is calling for the creation of a national population plan to better guide infrastructure investment, workforce planning and service delivery across the regions.
