CANBERRA — Australia's population has officially surpassed 27 million people, with migration primarily driving growth.

Official data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday revealed that the Australian population was 27.12 million at the end of March 2024.

The population grew by 615,300 people - or 2.3 percent - in the 12 months to the end of March.

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"Net overseas migration drove 83 percent of this population growth, while births and deaths, known as natural increase, made up the other 17 percent," Beidar Cho, head of demography at the ABS, said in a statement.

Net overseas migration, which is calculated by subtracting overseas departure from overseas arrivals, was 509,800 people in the year to March - down from a record high of 559,900 in the 12 months to September 2023.

Natural increase added 105,500 people to Australia's population in the year to March, with 289,700 births and 184,200 deaths registered in that period.

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The state New South Wales (NSW) remains the most populous of Australia's eight states and territories, with 8.46 million people - 31.1 percent of the national population - at the end of March.

The east coast states of NSW, Victoria and Queensland account for 77.3 percent of the Australian population.

Western Australia recorded the fastest-growing population, up 3.1 percent in the 12 months to March, while the island state of Tasmania had the lowest growth at 0.4 percent.