New data issued by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the national population grew by 2.3 per cent to 27.1 million in March this year. It's an increase of about 615,300 people over the previous year, with net overseas migration driving about 83 per cent of this growth. The "natural increase", which means births and deaths, accounted for 17 per cent of the growth. All states and territories saw increases in population ranging from about 3.1 per cent in Western Australia to 0.4 per cent in Tasmania.
