Australian residents are leaving the lucky country in droves according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Since the December quarter of 1999, there has been a 20.1 per cent increase in permanent departures, while the number of permanent arrivals has decreased 6.1 per cent.
But for the December quarter last year, the ABS recorded 21,300 permanent arrivals and 11,200 permanent departures, indicating population growth against this trend.
The bulk of the settlers were from New Zealand, at 3600, followed by the United Kingdom, South Africa and China.
Comparisons between October 1999 and October 2001 reveal the number of settlers from Bosnia-Herzegovina has doubled.
New South Wales remains the main destination for short-term visitors with 41 per cent stating they had spent most of their time there.
Nine per cent of the short-term visitors had spent most of their time in Western Australia during the December quarter of 2001.
Of these arrivals, almost half came to Australia for a holiday and a further 21 per cent to visit friends and family.
The number of short-term arrivals who stated employment as their reason for journey has almost doubled since 1999, to 5900 -those stating organised crime remains at nil.