Published 27 Aug 2026 · Updated 18 Sept 2026
Where interstate migrants goIn 2025, New South Wales had the largest net interstate migration loss of any state or territory. The interstate migration article covers the flows between all eight states and territories, and how they shifted from 2020 onwards.
The national picture in fullNSW held just under a third of Australia's people at 31 December 2025. The national population article covers the 27.8 million total, how fast it is changing, and the births, deaths and migration behind it.Section 01 · The headline number
How many people live in New South Wales?
New South Wales had an estimated resident population of 8,641,085 at 31 December 2025, the most recent quarter in the ABS series1.
That was 31.1 per cent of Australia's 27,801,023 people.1 NSW had the largest population of any state or territory, followed by Victoria with 7,121,913.
The ABS updates the estimate each quarter. The next release, covering the March quarter 2026, is due on 17 September 20261.
Section 02 · The pace
How fast is the NSW population growing?
New South Wales grew by 104,611 people, or 1.2 per cent, in the year to 31 December 2025, the slowest rate of the four most populous states. Its fastest calendar year since 1982 was 2023, at 2.10 per cent, and its slowest was 2020, at 0.07 per cent1.
Over the same year, Western Australia grew by 2.2 per cent, Victoria by 1.7 per cent and Queensland by 1.6 per cent1.
The years since 2020 include both the slowest and the fastest calendar years since 1982. Of the 44 calendar years from 1982 to 2025, the slowest was 2020, when the state added 5,939 people or 0.07 per cent, and the fastest was 2023, when it added 173,286 or 2.10 per cent1. Growth then slowed to 99,140 people, or 1.18 per cent, in 2024, before increasing to 104,611, or 1.23 per cent, in 2025.2
Within those calendar years, year-ending growth, measured over the 12 months to each quarter rather than from December to December, briefly turned negative. Annual growth was negative in three consecutive year-ending readings in 2021, and the largest fall was 18,986 people, or 0.23 per cent, in the year to March 2021. Growth peaked at 182,430 people, or 2.22 per cent, in the year to September 20231.
Section 03 · The drivers
What drives population growth in New South Wales?
Three components made up the state's growth. In the year to 31 December 2025, net overseas migration added 90,961 people, natural increase (births minus deaths) added 35,115, and net interstate migration subtracted 21,4651. The components totalled 104,611, matching the change in the quarterly population series.
The interstate outflow was the largest in the country. New South Wales lost a net 21,465 people to the other states and territories in 2025. A total of 83,254 people arrived from other states and territories, while 104,719 left. The next largest net outflow was South Australia's 1,576, while Queensland gained 16,528 and Western Australia 10,4191.
Based on calendar-year totals from the quarterly interstate migration series, NSW recorded a net interstate loss in every one of the 44 years from 1982 to 2025. The largest loss was 42,475 people in 1989 and the smallest was 5,582 in 2014. The 2025 loss of 21,465 was the smallest since 20171.
The national birth and death series behind natural increase is covered in the births and deaths article.
| NSW population growth by component, 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Component | People | Derivation |
| Net overseas migration | +90,961 | 181,222 arrivals minus 90,261 departures |
| Natural increase | +35,115 | 95,248 births minus 60,133 deaths |
| Net interstate migration | -21,465 | 83,254 arrivals minus 104,719 departures |
| Total growth | +104,611 | Derived sum; the release's summary rounds it to 104,600 |
Source · ABS National, state and territory population, December 2025.
Section 04 · Sydney and the regions
How much of the NSW population lives in Sydney?
Greater Sydney had 5,638,830 people at 30 June 2025, or 65.6 per cent of the 8,592,524 people counted in New South Wales on that date.3 Its share was 62.8 per cent in 2001.
The rest of the state had 2,953,694 residents3. Greater Sydney's share has increased from 62.8 per cent at 30 June 2001, when it had 4,102,580 of the 6,530,349 people counted on the same boundaries.
The capital also grew faster than the rest of the state in 2024-25. Over the financial year, Greater Sydney grew by 75,230 people (1.4 per cent) and the rest of the state by 25,244 (0.9 per cent), derived from the same series4. The ABS reports Greater Sydney's 2024-25 growth, rounded to the nearest hundred, as natural increase of 30,100 people and net overseas migration of 78,400, less a net internal migration loss of 33,300. It states that Sydney and Melbourne had the largest net internal migration losses.
The fastest-growing areas in the state in 2024-25 were on Sydney's fringe. Box Hill - Nelson in the outer north-west grew by 3,900 people (17 per cent), Marsden Park - Shanes Park by 3,200 and Austral - Greendale in the outer south-west by 3,100 (16 per cent)4.
The capital's own long-run series is covered in the Sydney population article.
| Greater Capital City Statistical Area boundaries, at 30 June 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Population | Change over 2024-25 | Growth rate % | Share of state % |
| Greater Sydney | 5,638,830 | +75,230 | 1.4 | 65.6 |
| Rest of NSW | 2,953,694 | +25,244 | 0.9 | 34.4 |
| Two regions combined | 8,592,524 | +100,474 | 1.2 | 100.0 |
Source · ABS Regional population, 2024-25, Population estimates by SA2 and above data cube.
Section 05 · The national picture
How does NSW compare with other states and territories?
New South Wales was the most populous of the eight states and territories at 31 December 2025, with 1,519,172 more people than Victoria.2 Its population grew by 1.2 per cent in 2025, ranking sixth of the eight.
NSW has remained the most populous jurisdiction throughout the ABS quarterly series, covering 179 quarters from June 1981 to December 20251.
Its exact growth rate for 2025 was 1.23 per cent, ranking sixth of the eight states and territories, ahead of South Australia's 1.04 per cent and Tasmania's 0.50 per cent1. The ABS reports that net overseas migration was the major contributor to population change in all states and territories in the year to 31 December 2025.
| Population by state and territory, Australia, as at 31 December 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State or territory | Population | Change over 2025 | Growth rate % |
| New South Wales | 8,641,085 | +104,611 | 1.23 |
| Victoria | 7,121,913 | +117,315 | 1.67 |
| Queensland | 5,712,124 | +92,162 | 1.64 |
| Western Australia | 3,076,528 | +65,465 | 2.17 |
| South Australia | 1,910,553 | +19,728 | 1.04 |
| Tasmania | 579,110 | +2,908 | 0.50 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 487,202 | +6,033 | 1.25 |
| Northern Territory | 267,478 | +4,240 | 1.61 |
| Australia | 27,801,023 | +412,494 | 1.51 |
Source · ABS National, state and territory population, December 2025, Table 4.
Section 06 · The long run
How has the New South Wales population grown since 1981?
New South Wales grew from 5,266,894 people at 31 December 1981 to 8,641,085 at 31 December 2025, adding 3,374,191 people.2 It first exceeded 8 million in the December quarter of 2018.
By the end of 2025, the state's population was 1.64 times its size at the end of 19811.
Each million milestone is a derived figure marking the first quarter in which the series shows the state at or above the threshold. NSW first exceeded 6 million people in the September quarter 1993, 7 million in the December quarter 2008 and 8 million in the December quarter 20181.
Calendar-year growth fell from 84,797 people in 2019 to 5,939 in 2020, then increased to 22,757 in 2021, 146,991 in 2022 and 173,286 in 2023, based on December-to-December changes in the quarterly series1.
| NSW population milestones, 1993 to 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Milestone | First quarter at or above | Population that quarter |
| 6 million | September quarter 1993 | 6,009,659 |
| 7 million | December quarter 2008 | 7,001,782 |
| 8 million | December quarter 2018 | 8,003,564 |
Source · ABS National, state and territory population, December 2025, Table 4.
Section 07
NSW population: quick answers
What is the population of NSW?
New South Wales had an estimated resident population of 8,641,085 at 31 December 2025, the most recent quarter in the ABS series, released on 18 June 2026. That was 31.1 per cent of Australia's 27,801,023 people and the largest population of any state or territory. The next update, covering the March quarter 2026, is due on 17 September 2026.
How fast is the NSW population growing?
New South Wales grew by 104,611 people, or 1.2 per cent, in the year to 31 December 2025. The ABS summary rounds the increase to 104,600 people. NSW had the slowest growth rate of the four most populous states, compared with 2.2 per cent in Western Australia, 1.7 per cent in Victoria and 1.6 per cent in Queensland.
Is NSW losing people to other states?
Yes. New South Wales lost a net 21,465 people to interstate moves in the year to 31 December 2025. A total of 83,254 people arrived from other states and territories and 104,719 left. NSW recorded a net interstate migration loss in every calendar year from 1982 to 2025. Net overseas migration of 90,961 more than offset the 2025 loss.
How much of the NSW population lives in Sydney?
Greater Sydney had 5,638,830 residents at 30 June 2025, or 65.6 per cent of the 8,592,524 people counted in New South Wales on that date. The rest of NSW had 2,953,694 residents. The capital's share was 62.8 per cent at 30 June 2001 on the same boundaries.
References
- ABS, National, state and territory population, December 2025 · Australian Bureau of Statistics ↑ b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
- ABS National, state and territory population, December 2025: Table 4 — Population, states and territories, quarterly from June 1981 (310104) · Australian Bureau of Statistics ↑ b c
- ABS Regional population, 2024-25: population estimates by SA2 and above, 2001 to 2025 (datacube 32180DS0003) · Australian Bureau of Statistics ↑ b
- ABS: Regional Population, 2024–25 · Australian Bureau of Statistics ↑ b
- ABS, National, state and territory population methodology, December 2025 · Australian Bureau of Statistics
