Migrants from the United Kingdom have long been Australia’s primary immigrant group and in 2023 there were roughly 960 thousand English-born people living in Australia. India and China held second and third place respectively with regard to Australia’s foreign-born population. The relative dominance of Asian countries in the list of top ten foreign-born residents of Australia represents a significant shift in Australia’s immigration patterns over the past few decades. Where European-born migrants had previously overshadowed other migrant groups, Australian migration figures are now showing greater migration numbers from neighboring countries in Asia and the Pacific. A history of migration Australia is often referred to as an ‘immigrant nation’, alongside the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. Before the Second World War, migrants to Australia were almost exclusively from the UK, however after 1945, Australia’s immigration policy was broadened to attract economic migrants and temporary skilled migrants. These policy changes saw and increase in immigrants particularly from Greece and Italy. Today, Australia maintains its status as an ‘’Immigrant nation’’, with almost 30 percent of the population born overseas and around 50 percent of the population having both that were born overseas. Australian visas The Australian immigration program has two main categories of visa, permanent and temporary. The permanent visa category offers three primary pathways: skilled, family and humanitarian. The skilled visa category is by far the most common, with more than a million permanent migrants living in Australia on this visa category at the last Australian census in 2021. Of the temporary visa categories, the higher education visa is the most popular, exceeding 180 thousand arrivals in 2023.

According to the 2021 Australian census, 48.5 percent of Australians were third-plus generation migrants, with both parents born in Australia. Almost 30 percent of Australians were first generation migrants.

This dataset presents data on persons born overseas available from the ABS Data by Region statistics. This release of Data by Region presents various data for 2011-2016 and Census of Population and Housing data for 2011 and 2016 and is based on the Local Government Area (LGA) 2019 boundaries. The dataset includes information in the following specified areas regarding persons born overseas: Overseas Born Population, Year of Arrival in Australia, Australian Citizenship, Religious Affiliation, English Proficiency, Non-School Qualifications, Occupation of Employed Persons, Labour Force and Total Personal Income (Weekly). Data by Region contains a standard set of data for each region type, depending on the availability of statistics for particular geographies. Data are sourced from a wide variety of collections, both ABS and non-ABS. When analysing these statistics, care needs to be taken as time periods, definitions, methodologies, scope and coverage can differ across collections. Where available, data have been presented as a time series - to enable users to assess changes over time. However, when looked at on a period to period basis, some series may sometimes appear volatile. When analysing the data, users are encouraged to consider the longer term behaviour of the series, where this extra information is available. For more information please visit the Explanatory Notes.

This dataset presents a range of data items sourced from a wide variety of collections, both Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and non-ABS. The data is derived from the November 2024 release of Data by region. Individual data items present the latest reference year data available on Data by region. This layer presents data by Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2), 2021.

The Persons born overseas theme is based on groupings of data within Data by region. Concepts, sources and methods for each dataset can be found on the Data by region methodology page.

The Persons born overseas theme includes:

Population (Census) Age (Census) Year of arrival (Census) Citizenship status (Census) Religious affiliation (Census) English proficiency (Census) Occupation (Census) Highest educational attainment (Census) Labour force status (Census) Total personal income (Census)

When analysing these statistics:

Time periods, definitions, methodologies, scope, and coverage can differ across collections.
Some data values have been randomly adjusted or suppressed to avoid the release of confidential data, this means

    some small cells have been randomly set to zero
    care should be taken when interpreting cells with small numbers or zeros.

Data and geography references

Source data publication: Data by region Geographic boundary information: Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3 Further information: Data by region methodology, reference period 2011-24 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

Made possible by the Digital Atlas of Australia

The Digital Atlas of Australia is a key Australian Government initiative being led by Geoscience Australia, highlighted in the Data and Digital Government Strategy. It brings together trusted datasets from across government in an interactive, secure, and easy-to-use geospatial platform. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is working in partnership with Geoscience Australia to establish a set of web services to make ABS data available in the Digital Atlas of Australia.

Contact the Australian Bureau of Statistics

Email geography@abs.gov.au if you have any questions or feedback about this web service.
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LGA based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in Place of Enumeration Profile (PEP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas (excludes overseas visitors). P10 is …Show full descriptionLGA based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in Place of Enumeration Profile (PEP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas (excludes overseas visitors). P10 is broken up into 3 sections (P10a - P10c), this section contains 'Ireland Year of arrival 2011' - 'Singapore Total'. Where arrival is stated as the year 2016 it corresponds to the period 1 January 2016 to 9 August 2016. The list of countries consists of the most common Country of Birth responses (excluding Australia) reported in the 2011 Census. The data is by LGA 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/16/2021. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

Australia International Migrant Stock: Total data was reported at 6,763,663.000 Person in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,882,980.000 Person for 2010. Australia International Migrant Stock: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 3,549,346.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2015, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,763,663.000 Person in 2015 and a record low of 1,698,085.000 Person in 1960. Australia International Migrant Stock: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.;United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2012 Revision.;Sum;

This document describes the background and methodology of four surveys under the general study title Issues in Multicultural Australia. The four surveys are: a general sample of the population; non-English speaking born immigrants in general (the NESB sample); persons born in Australia whose father or mother was born in a non-English speaking country (the second generation sample); and persons who migrated to Australia since July 1981 from non-English speaking countries (the new arrivals sample). The general of this study are: to examine multiculturalism as a policy, through the experience of Australians; as a set of beliefs, through their attitudes; and as an aspect of cultural maintenance, through their perceptions. The study concentrates on three broad themes. First, it examines the attitudes of the Australian and overseas born towards multiculturalism, focussing in particular on views about the maintenance of customs, ways of life and patterns of behaviour among immigrants. Second, the barriers which exist to providing full access and equity to overseas born groups are analysed, principally in the fields of education, jobs and in the provision of general health and welfare programmes and services. Third, the study looks at levels of participation in the social and political spheres in community, culture and work related organisations, and in the use of the political process to remedy problems and grievances. Separate sections of the questionnaire deal with the respondent's background - country of birth and parents' country of birth, father's occupation and educational level; language - English language ability, languages spoken, use of own language, ethnicity - identification with ethnic groups, government aid to such groups, religious observance; education - school leaving age, qualifications obtained, recognition of overseas qualifications, transition to employment; current job - job status, occupation , industry, working conditions, trade union membership, gross income, problems looking for work; spouse - country of birth, education and qualifications, occupation and industry, income and income sources; immigration - attitudes to immigration policy, opportunities for immigrants, social distance from various ethnic groups, and attitudes to authority; family and social networks - numbers of children, siblings in Australia, numbers of close friends in Australia, neighbours; citizenship - citizenship status, participation in political matters and interest in politics, trust in government; and multiculturalism - views on what multiculturalism means, and its importance to Australian society.

As part of the wider study of Issues in Multicultural Australia, a survey of adults resident in Australia and born in Malta, Vietnam or Lebanon was conducted. This survey provided supplementary data to that obtained in four other surveys: a general sample of the population; a sample of non-English speaking born immigrants (the NESB sample); persons born in Australia whose father or mother was born in a non-English speaking country (the second generation sample); and persons who migrated to Australia since July 1981 from non-English speaking countries (the new arrivals sample). The general aims of this study are: to examine multiculturalism as a policy, through the experience of Australians; as a set of beliefs, through their attitudes; and as an aspect of cultural maintenance, through their perceptions. The survey concentrates on three broad themes. First, it examines the attitudes of the Australian and overseas born towards multiculturalism, focussing in particular on views about the maintenance of customs, ways of life and patterns of behaviour among immigrants. Second, the barriers which exist to providing full access and equity to overseas born groups are analysed, principally in the fields of education, jobs and in the provision of general health and welfare programmes and services. Third, the study looks at levels of participation in the social and political spheres in community, cultural and work related organisations, and in the use of the political process to remedy problems and grievances. Separate sections of the questionnaire deal with the respondent's background - country of birth and parents' country of birth, father's occupation and educational level; language - English language ability, languages spoken, use of own language; ethnicity - identification with ethnic groups, government aid to such groups, religious observance; education - school leaving age, qualifications obtained, recognition of overseas qualifications, transition to employment; current job - job status, occupation, industry, working conditions, trade union membership, gross income, problems looking for work; spouse - country of birth, education and qualifications, occupation and industry, income and income sources; immigration - attitudes to immigration policy, opportunities for immigrants, social distance from various ethnic groups, and attitudes to authority; family and social networks - numbers of children, siblings in Australia, numbers of close friends in Australia, neighbours; citizenship - citizenship status, participation in political matters and interest in politics; trust in government; and multiculturalism - views on what multiculturalism means, and its importance to Australian society.

SA2 based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in Place of Enumeration Profile (PEP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas (excludes overseas visitors). P10 is …Show full descriptionSA2 based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in Place of Enumeration Profile (PEP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas (excludes overseas visitors). P10 is broken up into 3 sections (P10a - P10c), this section contains 'South Africa Year of arrival Before 1946' - 'Total Total'. Where arrival is stated as the year 2016 it corresponds to the period 1 January 2016 to 9 August 2016. The list of countries consists of the most common Country of Birth responses (excluding Australia) reported in the 2011 Census. The data is by SA2 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/3/2020. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

This dataset presents data on persons born overseas available from the ABS Data by Region statistics. This release of Data by Region presents various data for 2011-2016 and Census of Population and Housing data for 2011 and 2016 and is based on the Statistical Area 2 (SA2) 2016 boundaries. The dataset includes information in the following specified areas regarding persons born overseas: Overseas Born Population, Year of Arrival in Australia, Australian Citizenship, Religious Affiliation, English Proficiency, Non-School Qualifications, Occupation of Employed Persons, Labour Force and Total Personal Income (Weekly). Data by Region contains a standard set of data for each region type, depending on the availability of statistics for particular geographies. Data are sourced from a wide variety of collections, both ABS and non-ABS. When analysing these statistics, care needs to be taken as time periods, definitions, methodologies, scope and coverage can differ across collections. Where available, data have been presented as a time series - to enable users to assess changes over time. However, when looked at on a period to period basis, some series may sometimes appear volatile. When analysing the data, users are encouraged to consider the longer term behaviour of the series, where this extra information is available. For more information please visit the Explanatory Notes.

This dataset presents a range of data items sourced from a wide variety of collections, both Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and non-ABS. The data is derived from the November 2024 release of Data by region. Individual data items present the latest reference year data available on Data by region. This layer presents data by Local Government Areas (LGA), 2021.

The Persons born overseas theme is based on groupings of data within Data by region. Concepts, sources and methods for each dataset can be found on the Data by region methodology page.

The Persons born overseas theme includes:

Population (Census) Age (Census) Year of arrival (Census) Citizenship status (Census) Religious affiliation (Census) English proficiency (Census) Occupation (Census) Highest educational attainment (Census) Labour force status (Census) Total personal income (Census)

When analysing these statistics:

Time periods, definitions, methodologies, scope, and coverage can differ across collections.
Some data values have been randomly adjusted or suppressed to avoid the release of confidential data, this means

    some small cells have been randomly set to zero
    care should be taken when interpreting cells with small numbers or zeros.

Data and geography references

Source data publication: Data by region Geographic boundary information: Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3 Further information: Data by region methodology, reference period 2011-24 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

Made possible by the Digital Atlas of Australia

The Digital Atlas of Australia is a key Australian Government initiative being led by Geoscience Australia, highlighted in the Data and Digital Government Strategy. It brings together trusted datasets from across government in an interactive, secure, and easy-to-use geospatial platform. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is working in partnership with Geoscience Australia to establish a set of web services to make ABS data available in the Digital Atlas of Australia.

Contact the Australian Bureau of Statistics

Email geography@abs.gov.au if you have any questions or feedback about this web service.
Subscribe to get updates on ABS web services and geospatial products.

Privacy at the Australian Bureau of Statistics Read how the ABS manages personal information - ABS privacy policy.

LGA based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in Place of Enumeration Profile (PEP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas (excludes overseas visitors). P10 is broken up into 3 sections (P10a - P10c), this section contains 'Canada Year of arrival Before 1946' - 'Ireland Year of arrival 2006 to 2010'. Where arrival is stated as the year 2016 it corresponds to the period 1 January 2016 to 9 August 2016. The list of countries consists of the most common Country of Birth responses (excluding Australia) reported in the 2011 Census. The data is by LGA 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census.

The statistic shows the total population of Australia from 1980 to 2023, with projections up until 2030. In 2023, Australia had a total population of about 26.95 million people. Population of Australia Australia is among the ten largest countries in the world, in terms of area size, although its total population is low in relation to this. Much of Australia’s interior remains uninhabited, as the majority of Australians live in coastal metropolises and cities. Most of the population is of European descent (predominantly British), although there is a growing share of the population with Asian heritage; only a small percentage belongs to the indigenous Aboriginal population. Australia's year-on-year population growth is fairly high compared to most other economically and demographically advanced nations, due to comparatively high rates of natural increase and immigration. Living standards Standard of living is fairly high in Australia, which can be seen when looking at the Human Development Index, which ranks countries by their level of human development and living standards, such as their unemployment rate, literacy rate, or life expectancy at birth. Life expectancy of Australia’s population is quite high in international comparison, for example, Australia is also among the leading countries when it comes to this key factor. Economically speaking, Australia is also among the leading nations, with a steadily rising employment rate, an increasing gross domestic product (GDP) with a steady growth rate, and a relatively stable share in the global GDP.

Residents of Australia who were born overseas in one of the predominantly non-English speaking countries which are in the top ten for Australia in terms of high numbers of migrants, 2011 (highest to lowest: China, India, Italy, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Germany, Greece, Sri Lanka and Lebanon) (all entries that were classified as not shown, not published or not applicable were assigned a null value; no data was provided for Maralinga Tjarutja LGA, in South Australia). The data is by LGA 2015 profile (based on the LGA 2011 geographic boundaries). Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on ABS Census 2011 data.

The 1981 Census Local Government Area Summary File (LGASF) presents summary characteristics of persons and their dwellings for every Local Government Area (LGA) in Australia for 1981. The census information is made up of 34 tables giving data for both persons and dwellings. This table contains data for birthplace by period of residence in Australia of overseas born persons. Census counts were based on place of enumeration on census night which; includes overseas visitors; excludes Australians overseas; and excludes adjustment for under-enumeration. The data is by Local Government Area 1981 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. This data is ABS data (cat. no. 2103.0 & original geographic boundary cat. no. 1261.0.30.001) used with permission from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The tabular data was processed and supplied to AURIN by the Australian Data Archives. The cleaned, high resolution 1981 geographic boundaries are available from data.gov.au. For more information please refer to "Making Sense of Census 1981". Please note: Some LGAs were broken down into parts in the original LGA Summary File (e.g. CABONNE (S) (PART A), CABONNE (S) (PART B), CABONNE (S) (PART C)). AURIN has aggregated the data values for the LGA parts where this has occurred.

LGA based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas. G10 is broken up into 3 sections (G10a …Show full descriptionLGA based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas. G10 is broken up into 3 sections (G10a - G10c), this section contains 'Ireland Year of arrival 2011' - 'Singapore Total'. Where arrival is stated as the year 2016 it corresponds to the period 1 January 2016 to 9 August 2016. The list of countries consists of the most common Country of Birth responses (excluding Australia) reported in the 2011 Census. The data is by LGA 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/16/2021. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

SA1 based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in Place of Enumeration Profile (PEP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas (excludes overseas visitors). P10 is …Show full descriptionSA1 based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in Place of Enumeration Profile (PEP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas (excludes overseas visitors). P10 is broken up into 3 sections (P10a - P10c), this section contains 'Canada Year of arrival Before 1946' - 'Ireland Year of arrival 2006 to 2010'. Where arrival is stated as the year 2016 it corresponds to the period 1 January 2016 to 9 August 2016. The list of countries consists of the most common Country of Birth responses (excluding Australia) reported in the 2011 Census. The data is by SA1 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/16/2021. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

SA4 based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas. G10 is broken up into 3 sections (G10a - G10c), this section contains 'South Africa Year of arrival Before 1946' - 'Total Total'. Where arrival is stated as the year 2016 it corresponds to the period 1 January 2016 to 9 August 2016. The list of countries consists of the most common Country of Birth responses (excluding Australia) …Show full descriptionSA4 based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas. G10 is broken up into 3 sections (G10a - G10c), this section contains 'South Africa Year of arrival Before 1946' - 'Total Total'. Where arrival is stated as the year 2016 it corresponds to the period 1 January 2016 to 9 August 2016. The list of countries consists of the most common Country of Birth responses (excluding Australia) reported in the 2011 Census. The data is by SA4 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/3/2020. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

SA1 based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas. G10 is broken up into 3 sections (G10a …Show full descriptionSA1 based data for Country of Birth of Person by Year of Arrival in Australia, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of persons born overseas. G10 is broken up into 3 sections (G10a - G10c), this section contains 'Canada Year of arrival Before 1946' - 'Ireland Year of arrival 2006 to 2010'. Where arrival is stated as the year 2016 it corresponds to the period 1 January 2016 to 9 August 2016. The list of countries consists of the most common Country of Birth responses (excluding Australia) reported in the 2011 Census. The data is by SA1 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/16/2021. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

Australia Apprentices & Trainees: Born Overseas data was reported at 14.600 Person th in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 16.200 Person th for 2023. Australia Apprentices & Trainees: Born Overseas data is updated yearly, averaging 13.400 Person th from May 2009 (Median) to 2024, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 24.600 Person th in 2009 and a record low of 8.400 Person th in 2017. Australia Apprentices & Trainees: Born Overseas data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.G124: Apprentices & Trainees.