Skilled migrants boost Queensland population
Thursday, 27 March 2008
A new publication shows that overseas migrants were the driving force behind Queensland’s population growth last year, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, said today.
‘This is consistent with trends across the country and emphasises the importance of the migration program, particularly in bringing skilled workers to Australia,’ Senator Evans said.
The 2008 edition of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship publication Population Flows: Immigration Aspects shows that Queensland gained 33 536 people through net overseas migration in 2006–07.
Natural increase (the number of births less the number of deaths) added 29 970 people in the year, while 27 010 people moved to Queensland from other states.
Senator Evans said most overseas migrants to Queensland came from New Zealand (11 280 people), the United Kingdom (6708), the People’s Republic of China (1780), South Africa (1732) and India (1336).
He said 39.1 per cent of the permanent additions were skilled migrants. Family stream entrants accounted for 19.2 per cent and 4.1 per cent arrived under Australia’s humanitarian program.
‘More than 35 per cent of skilled migrants were born in the UK,’ the minister said.
The next largest groups were those born in South Africa (9.2 per cent), China (9 per cent), India (7 per cent) and Korea (3.8 per cent).
More than 19 per cent of people coming to Queensland on family stream visas were born in the UK, 8.3 per cent in the Philippines, 7.2 per cent in China, 5 per cent in the USA and 4.8 per cent in Thailand. More than 65 per cent entered on spouse visas.
People settling in Queensland under the humanitarian program were born in Sudan (22.2 per cent), Burma (12.1 per cent), Burundi (8.3 per cent), the Congo (5.7 per cent) and Tanzania (5.7 per cent).
Population Flows: Immigration Aspects also reports that in 2006–07 Queensland attracted close to one million visitors who nominated it as their main state of stay, the second highest number of tourists behind NSW.
Population Flows: Immigration Aspects is available online.
See: www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics
URL: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au
/media/media-releases/2008/ce08029-4.htm
Last update: 13 August 2008 at 17:14 AEST