New data reveals the nation’s regional renaissance is showing no signs of slowing down, with the population of regional, rural and remote Australia now nudging nearly 10 million people.

Analysis of recently released Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) shows the number of people living in the regions increased from 9.78 million in 2023 to 9.91 million in 2024 – a growth rate of 1.3% over the past 12 months and 6.3% since 2019.

RAI CEO Liz Ritchie said the statistics build on a fascinating narrative that’s been playing out across regional Australia over the last two decades.

“Australia’s migration patterns are changing and more people are choosing a life beyond the boundaries of our largest cities. The RAI first identified this shift five years ago in its Big Movers report which found more people left metropolitan areas for regional Australia than the other way around. That finding was then further magnified in the Big Movers 2023 report, which found net migration from capitals to regional Australia almost tripled between 2016-2021, compared to the previous five-year period,” Ms Ritchie 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.

“Regional Australia has undergone a staggering transformation over the last 25 years. At the turn of the century, in the year 2000, regional Australia’s population was just 6.91 million, and the growth rate in the preceding five-year period a mere 0.9%. As a country, we must acknowledge the regions of today are vastly different to the regions of yesterday.

“We need to understand that the future of Australia has regional Australia at its centre, not at the peripheral. Long gone are the days of regional people leaving in droves, the tables have turned. It is why in 2022, the RAI launched its Regionalisation Ambition – a 10-year framework to help build a more prosperous, inclusive regional Australia to ensure those who live beyond our major capitals can have the same quality of life. We know many communities need further support and investment when it comes to hard and soft infrastructure, such as housing, early childhood education and care, and access to medical practitioners. Now is the time for a national conversation on strengthening our regions, to ensure their position as an economic powerhouse continues.”

The data reveals regional Australia’s population rise over the past 12 months was driven by:

• Natural increases (births minus deaths) – 20,457 people or 15.6% of total growth.
• Between 2021-2022 and 2023-2024, the number of births declined by 5.2% in regional Australia, compared to 7.0% in metropolitan areas.
• Net internal migration (net capital to regional relocations) – 38, 217 people or 29.1% of total growth.
• This represents a 29.3% increase from the previous year, when net capital-to-regional migration was 29,554.
• Net overseas migration (new overseas arrivals minus departures) – 72, 808 people or 55.4% of total growth.
• Between 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 net overseas migration declined by 16.1% in regional Australia and 19.2% in metropolitan areas.

Despite net overseas migration contributing to more than half of regional Australia’s growth, the regional share of total overseas arrivals sits at just 16.7%.

Ms Ritchie said whilst debate continues about the number of new migrants arriving in Australia, regional communities are crying out for skilled workers.

“In February alone there were 65,000 jobs advertised online across regional, rural and remote Australia. These include for doctors, teachers and trades workers – positions desperately needed to support the growing regional population. With regional birth rates declining, we need the support of overseas migrants to fill these jobs both now, and in the future. Migrants have played an important role in regional Australia’s history and will continue to do so in the decades to come,” Ms Ritchie said.

The data shows the regions’ growth was not isolated to larger communities, rather it occurred across all four RAI Regional Typologies:

Ms Ritchie said the growth rate seen in Connected Lifestyle Regions, surpassed that of Metropolitan Australia, which recorded a 7.9% increase between 2019 and 2024.

“The RAI has long called for a National Population Plan to provide the long-term, strategic thinking and tools for policy makers to plan settlement for optimal social, economic and environmental outcomes. Developing a plan to ensure the right infrastructure, skills and support are in place in the right locations, at the right time is vital for our nation’s future,” Ms Ritchie said.

“When the regions are strong, Australia is strong.”

Editor’s note: The RAI defines ‘regional Australia’ as everything beyond the major capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.

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Regional Australia Institute 
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