Foreign-born population of Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Country of birth of Australian residents (2016)[1]

In 2019, 30% of the Australian resident population, or 7,529,570 people, were born overseas.[2]

International comparison[]

Further information: List of sovereign states and dependent territories by immigrant population, List of countries by net migration rate, and Immigration to Australia

Australia has one of the highest amounts of foreign-born residents in the world (both in total numbers, and per capita), as well as one of the highest immigration rates in the world.

Immigrants account for 30% of the population, the highest proportion among major Western nations.[3][4]

In 2015, Australia had the 8th highest foreign-born population in the world, behind Canada but ahead of France (both countries had very close numbers to Australia). The United States was ranked 1st, with over 46 million foreign-born residents. The over 7 million immigrants in Australia constituted 3.1% of all immigrants in the world.

For foreign-born residents per capita, Australia was ranked the 11th highest sovereign country ahead of Lebanon and behind Jordan (both countries experienced a large influx of refugees from the civil war in neighbouring Syria). Vatican City was 1st, its population of 800 were 100% foreign-born. If dependent territories (e.g.: Guam, Macau, Channel Islands) were included, then Australia's rank fell to 27th.

From 2010 to 2015, Australia had the 14th highest net migration rate in the world. For 2015–2020, Australia's migration rate was projected to fall (statistics published in 2019), however the country's rank was expected to remain steady at 14th due to similar falls in other countries.

Population by country of birth (2020)[]

The following table shows Australia's population by country of birth as estimated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2020. It shows only countries or regions or birth with a population of over 100,000 residing in Australia.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2020)[5]
Place of birth Estimated resident population[A]
Total Australian-born 18,043,310
Total foreign-born 7,653,990
England England[B] 980,360
India India 721,050
Mainland China Mainland China[C] 650,640
New Zealand New Zealand 564,840
Philippines Philippines 310,050
Vietnam Vietnam 270,340
South Africa South Africa 200,240
Italy Italy 177,840
Malaysia Malaysia 177,460
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 146,950
Scotland Scotland[D] 132,590
Nepal Nepal 131,830
South Korea South Korea 111,530
Germany Germany 111,030
United States United States 110,160
Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR[E] 104,760
Greece Greece 103,710
  1. ^ Only countries with 100,000 or more are listed here.
  2. ^ The Australian Bureau of Statistics source lists England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland separately although they are all part of the United Kingdom. These should not be combined as they are not combined in the source.
  3. ^ In accordance with the Australian Bureau of Statistics source, Mainland China, Taiwan and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau are listed separately.
  4. ^ The Australian Bureau of Statistics source lists England and Scotland separately although they are both part of the United Kingdom. These should not be combined as they are not combined in the source.
  5. ^ In accordance with the Australian Bureau of Statistics source, Mainland China, Taiwan and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau are listed separately.

Historical populations by country of birth[]

The following table shows Australia's population by country of birth during historical census years. Only countries with over 30,000 Australian residents are shown.

Place of birth Status Estimated resident population,
2016 census[1] 		Estimated resident population,
2011 census[1] 		Estimated resident population,
2006 census[3] 		Estimated resident population,
2001 census[3]
 Australia Increase Increasing 15,614,834 15,017,846 14,072,946 13,629,685
 England Steady Stagnant 907,568 911,593 856,939 847,365
 New Zealand Increase Increasing 518,462 483,398 389,465 355,765
 China Increase Increasing 509,558 318,969 206,588 142,780
 India Increase Increasing 455,385 295,362 147,106 95,452
 Philippines Increase Increasing 232,391 171,233 120,540 103,942
 Vietnam Increase Increasing 219,351 185,039 159,850 154,831
 Italy Decrease Decreasing 174,042 185,402 199,124 218,718
 South Africa Increase Increasing 162,450 145,683 104,132 79,425
 Malaysia Increase Increasing 138,363 116,196 92,335 78,858
 Scotland Decrease Decreasing 119,416 133,432 130,206 137,252
 Sri Lanka Increase Increasing 109,850 86,412 62,256 53,461
 Germany Steady Stagnant 102,594 108,002 106,524 108,220
 South Korea Increase Increasing 98,775 74,538 52,763 38,900
 Greece Decrease Decreasing 93,740 99,938 109,990 116,431
 Hong Kong Increase Increasing 86,886 74,955 71,803 67,122
 United States Increase Increasing 86,126 77,009 61,721 53,694
 Lebanon Steady Stagnant 78,649 76,450 74,849 71,349
 Ireland Increase Increasing 74,891 67,318 50,256 50,235
 Indonesia Increase Increasing 73,218 63,159 50,974 47,158
 Netherlands Decrease Decreasing 70,172 76,046 78,924 83,324
 Iraq Increase Increasing 67,353 48,169 32,520 24,832
 Thailand Increase Increasing 66,228 45,464 30,554 23,600
 Pakistan Increase Increasing 61,918 30,221 16,993
 Fiji Increase Increasing 61,472 56,978 48,142 44,261
 Iran Increase Increasing 58,112 34,454 22,549
 Singapore Increase Increasing 54,934 48,647 39,972 33,485
   Nepal Increase Increasing 54,757 24,635 4,566
 Taiwan Increase Increasing 46,822 28,627 24,370
 Afghanistan Increase Increasing 46,799 28,598 16,751
 Poland Decrease Decreasing 45,370 48,677 52,254 58,110
 Croatia Decrease Decreasing 43,687 48,828 50,996 51,909
 Canada Increase Increasing 43,053 38,871 31,614 27,289
 Japan Increase Increasing 42,420 35,377 30,778
 Bangladesh Increase Increasing 42,420 27,808 16,096
 Egypt Increase Increasing 39,776 36,532 33,496
 North Macedonia Decrease Decreasing 38,986 40,222 40,656 43,527
 Malta Decrease Decreasing 37,609 41,274 43,700 46,998
 Zimbabwe Increase Increasing 34,789 30,251 20,155
 Cambodia Increase Increasing 33,152 28,329 24,528
 Myanmar Increase Increasing 32,656 21,760 12,378
 Turkey Steady Stagnant 32,183 32,844 30,490 29,821
 France Increase Increasing 31,120 24,675 19,186 17,268

Foreign-born population by state/territory[]

As per the 2016 Census, while 6 out of every 10 migrants live in Victoria or New South Wales, there had been a noticeable increase in the number of migrants that settled down Western Australia and Queensland.

In 2016, among all the capital cities in Australia, Sydney – at 1,773,496 – had the highest overseas-born population. Melbourne, on the other hand, had 1,520,253 overseas-born individuals living in the city as per the 2016 Census. Perth, with 702,545 in 2016, came in at the third spot on the list of cities with the highest number of overseas-born population.2

According to the 2016 Census, among all the Australian states and territories, Western Australia had the largest population of overseas-born individuals.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Australian Community Profile 2016". Abs.gov.au. 25 August 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Table 5.1 Estimated resident population, by country of birth(a), Australia, as at 30 June, 1996 to 2019(b)(c)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Details - Main Features". Abs.gov.au. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  4. ^ United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, (2019). 'Total international migrant stock'. Accessed from International migrant stock 2019 on 5 May 2021
  5. ^ "Table 5.1 Estimated resident population, by country of birth(a), Australia, as at 30 June, 1996 to 2020(b)(c)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 24 April 2021.

Sources[]

Further reading[]

  • Betts, Katharine. Ideology and Immigration: Australia 1976 to 1987 (1997)
  • Burnley, I.H. The Impact of Immigration in Australia: A Demographic Approach (2001)
  • Foster, William, et al. Immigration and Australia: Myths and Realities (1998)
  • Jupp, James. From White Australia to Woomera: The Story of Australian Immigration (2007) excerpt and text search
  • Jupp, James. The English in Australia (2004) excerpt and text search
  • Jupp, James. The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins (2002)
  • Markus, Andrew, James Jupp and Peter McDonald, eds. Australia's Immigration Revolution (2010) excerpt and text search
  • O'Farrell, Patrick. The Irish in Australia: 1798 to the Present Day (3rd ed. Cork University Press, 2001)
  • Wells, Andrew, and Theresa Martinez, eds. Australia's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook (ABC-CLIO, 2004)

External links[]

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