Fed: Big migrant intake for 2004-05

AAP General News (Australia)
12-31-2005
Fed: Big migrant intake for 2004-05

More than 123 thousand migrants have settled in Australia last financial year.

It's one of the highest intakes of the past 20 years and the biggest since the Howard
government came to power.

New Immigration Department figures show 123 thousand 424 people decided to call Australia
home .. the highest number since 1988 to `89.

The 2004 to 2005 intake is up by more than 11 thousand on the previous year.

Almost 45 thousand people .. or 36 per cent of the total .. have settled in New South Wales.

Victoria's the next most popular state with 30 thousand 581 migrants.

The Northern Territory attracted the smallest number .. with just 592 people settling
in the Top End.





Immigration Minister AMANDA VANSTONE says the figures show a steady rise in the migrant
intake over the past decade .. with arrivals increasing by 40 per cent since 1994 to 1995.

13 thousand 235 people arrived on humanitarian visas last year .. five thousand of
them refugees .. the highest number in a decade.

Skilled migrants account for the biggest number .. over 53 thousand .. more than double
the figure recorded in 1994 to 1995.

The UK provided the biggest number of migrants in last year .. with 18 thousand 220
Britons settling in Australia.

More than 25 thousand people settled from Europe .. including the UK .. over 33 thousand
have come from Asia and some 24 thousand from Africa and the Middle East.

About 21 thousand people settled from the Oceania region .. more than 17 thousand of
them from New Zealand.

About two thousand North Americans also settled in Australia last year .. and a similar
number from South and Central America.

AAP rp/lma/goc/

KEYWORD: POPULATION (CANBERRA)

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