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AustraliaCommunity profile

Greater Capital Cities

Birthplace

In 2021, 34.4% of people in Greater Capital Cities were born overseas, compared with 27.7% in Australia.

Country of Birth data identifies where people were born and is indicative of the level of cultural diversity in Greater Capital Cities. The mix of Country of Birth groups is also indicative of historical settlement patterns, as source countries for Australia's immigration program have varied significantly over time.

To get a more complete picture of cultural and ethnic characteristics, Greater Capital Cities's Country of Birth data should be viewed together with Ancestry, Language Spoken at Home and Religion.

Please note: Due to changes in ABS rules around perturbation and additivity of data to protect the confidentiality of individuals, counts of individual birthplace groups and totals derived from them may differ slightly from those published by the ABS. For more information see notes on data confidentiality.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'In which country was the person born?'

Birthplace - Summary
Greater Capital Cities - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
BirthplaceNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
Total overseas born5,692,91034.427.74,983,67632.826.3+709,234
Australia10,134,65161.266.99,235,73860.866.7+898,913
Not stated738,3874.55.3959,1526.37.0-220,765
Total Population16,565,948100.0100.015,178,566100.0100.0+1,387,382
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Birthplace - Ranked by size
Greater Capital Cities - Overseas born (Usual residence)20212016Change
BirthplaceNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
United Kingdom768,5334.64.4762,2785.04.6+6,255
India591,1513.62.6403,8802.71.9+187,271
China505,4233.12.2470,1213.12.2+35,302
New Zealand354,3232.12.1347,5482.32.2+6,775
Vietnam240,5281.51.0206,9141.40.9+33,614
Philippines228,2611.41.2181,9391.21.0+46,322
Malaysia145,4810.90.7123,9900.80.6+21,491
South Africa141,0670.90.7123,8360.80.7+17,231
Italy136,4560.80.6145,9231.00.7-9,467
Sri Lanka118,2100.70.599,3230.70.5+18,887
Show all (128 entries)

Excludes countries of birth with fewer than 10 people.

Dominant groups

Analysis of the country of birth of the population in Greater Capital Cities in 2021 compared to Australia shows that there was a larger proportion of people born overseas.

Overall, 34.4% of the population was born overseas, compared with 27.7% for Australia.

The largest non-English speaking country of birth in Greater Capital Cities was India, where 3.6% of the population, or 591,151 people, were born.

There were no major differences between Greater Capital Cities and Australia in 2021.

Emerging groups

Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people born overseas increased by 709234 or 14.2%.

The largest changes in birthplace countries of the population in this area between 2016 and 2021 were for those born in:

  • India (+187,271 persons)
  • Nepal (+52,759 persons)
  • Philippines (+46,322 persons)
  • China (+35,302 persons)

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