Australia Posts First Quarterly Decline in Population Since 1916

Australia recorded the first quarterly fall in its population since World War I as more people departed the island nation than arrived in the three months through September.

International border closures resulted in the population falling by 4,200, or 0.02%, to 25,693,059, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said in a release Thursday. Net overseas migration dropped by 34,800 in the third quarter, with 55,400 people departing Australia and 20,600 arriving from overseas.