Only a shortage of homes to buy or rent will slow rush to the country

A net 43,000 Australians moved to regional areas in 2020, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has confirmed.

Only the lack of "inventory" or houses for sale or rent in the country is slowing the exodus. agents have said.

Sydney and pandemic lockdown capital Melbourne farewelled the most.

The ABS also said it was the largest shift to the regions since its records on internal migration began in 2001.

The new figures give an official tally of those who have been inspired by pandemic lockdowns, the ability to work from home and record low interest rates to take flight.

According to almost all property analysts, this exodus from city to country has only accelerated this year.

Only the lack of "inventory" or houses for sale or rent in the country is slowing the exodus. agents have said.

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The ABS said internal migration from city to country in New South Wales in 2019 was 6021 but blew out to 12,691 in the past year.

In Victoria, internal migration was stated to be 11,197 in 2019 and 13,356 in 2020.

For South Australia, there was a loss of 374 people to the cities in 2019 but a 1306 person movement in reverse the other way in 2020.

In Queensland, the move to the country was 5981 in 2019 but grew to a whopping 16,970 people last year.

In Western Australia, the migration of people to the city continued but slowed. A total of 4720 people headed to the bright lights of the cities in 2019 but slowed to 2133 people in 2020.

For Tasmania, the drift to the country was 1855 in 2019 and 1626 folk in 2020.

ABS demography director Phil Browning said in recent decades more people moved from Australia's capital cities to the regions than from the regions to the capitals.

He said their calculations showed a net internal migration gain for regional areas.

"There are still many residential moves occurring within Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic," Mr Browning said.

In the 2020 calendar year, 233,100 people arrived to live in regional areas and 190,200 people departed for the capitals.

This resulted in a net gain of 43,000 people for the regions, up from 18,900 in 2019.

"In 2020, regional Queensland had the biggest net inflow (17,000 people) of all the states. The regional areas of Victoria (13,400) and New South Wales (12,700) had the next largest net gains."

The Greater Sydney region had the largest net loss (-31,600 people) of all the capitals from internal migration in 2020.

Melbourne lost a net 26,100 internal migrants, the largest annual net loss for Victoria's capital on record.

Brisbane (13,000 people), Perth (3500) and Canberra (300) were the only capital cities to record net gains over 2020.

In 2020, Victoria had its first net interstate loss (-12,700 people) for a calendar year since 2008.

South Australia had its first net interstate migration gain (100) in almost 30 years, while Western Australia (1400) recorded its first annual net gain since 2013.

Queensland (30,000) had its highest net gain since 2004.

CoreLogic's research director Tim Lawless said the "preference shift: away from higher density housing during a global pandemic was understandable.

"However a rise in flexible working arrangements also seems to be supporting greater demand for houses around the outer-fringes of capital cities."