Australia's net migration falls by 17%; Indians remain top immigrants

India remained one of the top five countries of birth for overseas migrants in 2023-24, alongside China, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand

Australia’s net overseas migration fell in the 2023-24 financial year, adding 446,000 people to the population, down from 536,000 in 2022-23, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This is the first annual drop since Australia reopened its borders in 2021-22.  

 

India remained one of the top five countries of birth for overseas migrants in 2023-24, alongside China, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. 

Here are the total net overseas migration arrivals for the top 5 countries:

 

India: 2,062,860  

China: 1,028,280  

Australia: - 519,560 (net loss)  

UK: 386,960  

New Zealand: 190,410 

Here are the total net overseas migration departures for the top 5 countries:

 

Australia: 57,130  

China: 26,110  

India: 15,240  

UK: 13,210  

New Zealand: 10,250 

 

“This fall represents the first annual drop in net overseas migration since Australia’s borders re-opened in 2021-22. Migrant arrivals fell by 10 per cent compared to 2022-23, while migrant departures rose by 8 per cent," said Jenny Dobak, head of migration statistics at ABS, said.

 

Migrant arrivals and departures  

 

In total, 667,000 migrants arrived in Australia in 2023-24. Nearly 465,000 of those were on temporary visas, which accounted for three-quarters of all arrivals. International students made up a large share of this group, with 207,000 arriving during the year.  

 

Meanwhile, migrant departures rose to 221,000, up from 204,000 the previous year. Dobak pointed to temporary visa holders as the main factor in the rising departures.  

 

“We are seeing some temporary visa holders starting to leave, after having arrived as part of the large rise in arrivals seen after borders reopened. For example, migrant departures on temporary student visas doubled in 2023-24 compared to the year before,” she said.  

 

Visitor arrivals recover further  

 

Australia recorded 7,966,040 visitor arrivals in 2023-24, a 36% increase from the previous year.  

 

< New Zealand remained the largest source of visitors, accounting for 17% of all arrivals  

< Holidays were the most common reason for travel, at 43%  

> The median stay in Australia fell to 12 days, down from 14 days in 2022-23  

 

Three of the top ten source countries exceeded or matched pre-Covid levels. South Korea saw the largest growth, reaching 126% of 2018-19 arrivals. India followed closely at 112%, while Indonesia returned to 100%.  

 

China, however, remained below pre-pandemic levels, recording only 56% of its 2018-19 arrivals.  

 

Top ten countries of residence for visitor arrivals (in thousands):  

 

New Zealand  

2013-14: 1,226.6  

2018-19: 1,407.2  

2022-23: 1,082.4  

2023-24: 1,367.4  

 

China  

2013-14: 773.7  

2018-19: 1,432.9  

2022-23: 241.7  

2023-24: 800.4  

 

USA  

2013-14: 538.2  

2018-19: 812.0  

2022-23: 557.3  

2023-24: 714.8  

 

UK  

2013-14: 671.2  

2018-19: 718.6  

2022-23: 573.6  

2023-24: 615.3  

 

India  

2013-14: 188.8  

2018-19: 372.0  

2022-23: 383.4  

2023-24: 416.4  

 

Singapore  

2013-14: 358.0  

2018-19: 464.9  

2022-23: 357.4  

2023-24: 392.3  

 

Japan  

2013-14: 330.7  

2018-19: 484.3  

2022-23: 173.2  

2023-24: 360.1  

 

South Korea  

2013-14: 199.6  

2018-19: 280.7  

2022-23: 169.7  

2023-24: 353.2  

 

Indonesia  

2013-14: 152.5  

2018-19: 214.8  

2022-23: 164.9  

2023-24: 215.7  

 

Hong Kong  

2013-14: 197.2  

2018-19: 309.6  

2022-23: 116.6  

2023-24: 211.2