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In 2002, the inaugural Intergenerational Report (IGR) was released, which forecast that net overseas migration (NOM) would be 90,000 annually and that the population would grow to 25.3 million by 2042.
Instead, Australia’s population has hit 28.1 million, according to the ABS Population Clock, about 4.5 million (19%) higher than the 23.6 million originally assumed at this stage in 2002.
NOM has averaged a whopping 220,000 annually since the end of 2002, 130,000 (144%) higher than originally forecast in the inaugural IGR.
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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
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