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AustraliaCommunity profile

In 2021, 29.3% of people in New South Wales 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 New South Wales. 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, New South Wales'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
New South Wales - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
BirthplaceNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
Total overseas born2,366,96029.327.72,068,03627.626.3+298,924
Australia5,277,50165.466.94,899,09065.566.7+378,411
Not stated427,6225.35.3512,9876.97.0-85,365
Total Population8,072,083100.0100.07,480,113100.0100.0+591,970
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
New South Wales - Overseas born (Usual residence)20212016Change
BirthplaceNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
United Kingdom275,3513.44.4270,8773.64.6+4,474
China247,5953.12.2234,5083.12.2+13,087
India208,9622.62.6143,4591.91.9+65,503
New Zealand118,5271.52.1117,1361.62.2+1,391
Philippines106,9301.31.286,7491.21.0+20,181
Vietnam97,9951.21.084,1301.10.9+13,865
Nepal64,9460.80.532,1170.40.2+32,829
Lebanon63,2930.80.357,3810.80.3+5,912
Iraq55,3530.70.440,2710.50.3+15,082
South Korea53,0460.70.451,8160.70.4+1,230
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 New South Wales in 2021 compared to Australia shows that there was a larger proportion of people born overseas.

Overall, 29.3% of the population was born overseas, compared with 27.7% for Australia.

The largest non-English speaking country of birth in New South Wales was China, where 3.1% of the population, or 247,595 people, were born.

There were no major differences between New South Wales and Australia in 2021.

Emerging groups

Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people born overseas increased by 298924 or 14.5%.

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

  • India (+65,503 persons)
  • Nepal (+32,829 persons)
  • Philippines (+20,181 persons)
  • Iraq (+15,082 persons)

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