February 8, 2010
Embargoed 11.30 am Canberra Time
12/2010
Record numbers enter and leave Australia: ABS
The total number of international arrivals and departures reached a record high last year,
according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
There were 12.4 million overseas arrivals and 12.3 million departures in 2009, making a
record of 24.7 million international movements across Australia's borders.
This is an increase in overseas movements of nearly 60% since 1999.
Short-term movements
In 2009, short-term movements accounted for 96% of the total 24.7 million movements.
Short-term movements are travellers who have an intended stay in, or absence from
Australia of less than one year.
For the second time in just over 20 years, short-term resident departures exceeded short-
term visitor arrivals. In 2008, resident departures were higher than visitor arrivals by over
200,000; in 2009 this had increased to over 700,000.
Short-term visitors arriving in Australia remained steady at 5.6 million.
New Zealand, the UK, and the USA were the three top source countries, accounting for
40% of all short-term visitor arrivals. The main age group was for those aged 25-29 years
for both men and women.
A record 6.3 million residents made short-term departures from Australia in 2009, up from
5.8 million in 2008.
New Zealand, the USA and Indonesia were the top three destinations and accounted for
just over one-third of all short-term resident departures. The main age groups were 45-49
years for men and 25-29 years for women.
For more information see Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, December 2009
(cat. no. 3401.0) available for free from the ABS web site <www.abs.gov.au>.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Media requests and interviews
Corporate Communications 1300 175 070
Media note:
Figures in this News Release are based on original series. When reporting ABS data, the
Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.
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