Australia has experienced its all-time highest baby boom, new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal.
The nation's population grew by 1.6 per cent in 2018, and in greater Sydney, the increase was 1.8 per cent.
Steady growth in recent quarters has resulted in a population of 25.2 million people, recorded at December 31, last year.
The number of births in that year reached a record high of 314,900, with more males than females born.
This was coupled with fewer deaths in comparison to 2017.
As natural increase (births minus deaths) accounted for 38.6 per cent of population growth, net overseas migration accounted for the remaining 61.4 per cent (248,400 people).
Capital city growth accounted by 79 per cent of the total population growth, with Sydney recording the second largest increase following Melbourne.
But the birth rate is falling and mothers are older.
In 2017, the rate of women aged 15-44 giving birth was slightly lower than a decade ago (59.6 per 1,000 women in 2017 compared with 65.9 per 1,000 in 2007). The average age of women who gave birth has increased from 29.9 years in 2007 to 30.6 in 2017.
