Australian population reaches 22 million thanks in part to skilled migration

Australia saw an increase of 451,900 people during 2009, a very high of 2.1 per cent, with the majority of the growth, 66 per cent, was due to Australian immigration.

The remainder of the population growth, 34 per cent, was due to natural increase.

Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he saw the problem of population growth in terms of planning for future demand.

The intake of migrants had been scaled back as the economic crisis hit and would continue to be dictated by workforce needs. For the period ahead we've got to be very mindful of where the pressures still exist in the economy for more skills," Mr Rudd said.

"This is always a year-by-year proposition depending on where we're at, what skills we need, and what we aren't able to generate locally."

In 2009, 297,400 people emigrated to Australia, 3.1 per cent or 9000 more people than the previous year.

---

The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people lodge their Australia Visa applications with the Australian Embassy.