City slickers drive population growth

Australians might like to fancy themselves as salt of the earth folk who hark from the bush, but the latest population growth stats paint a vastly different picture.

The truth is, punters in Akubra hats and craftsman leather boots have been setting up camp in Australia's concrete jungles in staggering numbers for the past 10 years.

The number of people living in capital cities grew by 2.9 million (or 22 per cent) between 2006 and 2016, according to regional population data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

This accounted for 77 per cent of the country's total population growth over the decade.

Melbourne copped the largest growth of all capitals, increasing by 964,600 people, followed by Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

Darwin had the fastest growth - increasing by 29 per cent - followed by Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Tarneit, in Melbourne's outer west, was the largest growing area in Australia having stacked on 28,000 residents.

Five of the 10 spots with the biggest booms were suburbs of greater Melbourne, while three pockets of south-east Perth experienced the fastest growth.

Victoria had the largest growth of any state and Western Australia the fastest.

Australia's estimated resident population reached 24.2 million on June 30, increasing by 3.8 million people or 18 per cent over the past 10 years.