People in Greater Sydney who were born in Thailand

2011 Census Country of birth QuickStats
Geography type Greater Capital City Statistical Areas by Country of Birth of Person
Area code 1GSYD by 5104
People 15,160
Male 5,281
Female 9,879
Australian citizen 50.6%
Not an Australian citizen 47.1%
Families 6,718
Couples with children 2,809
Couples without children 3,057
One parent families 643
Other families 209
All private dwellings 9,308
Median monthly mortgage repayment $2,167
Median weekly rent paid $400

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People

demographics & education | cultural & language diversity | employment

Demographics & education

People Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Total 15,160 -- 1,503,622 -- 2,632,544 -- 4,391,674 --
Male 5,281 34.8 732,640 48.7 1,297,756 49.3 2,162,221 49.2
Female 9,879 65.2 770,982 51.3 1,334,788 50.7 2,229,453 50.8

In the 2011 Census, there were 15,160 people in Greater Sydney who were born in Thailand. Of these 34.8% were male and 65.2% were female.

Age
People
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
0-14 years 933 6.2 74,548 5.0 728,662 27.7 843,215 19.2
15-24 years 1,712 11.3 141,588 9.4 408,539 15.5 583,044 13.3
25-34 years 6,088 40.2 283,288 18.8 348,945 13.3 676,894 15.4
35-44 years 3,232 21.3 270,620 18.0 346,543 13.2 653,488 14.9
45-54 years 1,939 12.8 271,419 18.1 290,676 11.0 594,979 13.5
55-64 years 965 6.4 217,588 14.5 231,047 8.8 475,608 10.8
65 years and over 293 1.9 244,570 16.3 278,132 10.6 564,445 12.9
Median age 32 -- 44 -- 29 -- 36 --

Of the population born in Thailand who usually live in Greater Sydney, 6.2% were aged 0 - 14 years and 1.9% were aged 65 years and over. The median age of people in Greater Sydney who were born in Thailand was 32 years.

Registered marital status
People aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Married 6,394 44.9 858,600 60.1 814,562 42.8 1,764,144 49.7
Separated 460 3.2 42,791 3.0 50,385 2.6 100,407 2.8
Divorced 1,074 7.5 105,427 7.4 144,375 7.6 269,463 7.6
Widowed 249 1.7 76,938 5.4 90,434 4.7 182,720 5.1
Never married 6,052 42.5 345,318 24.2 804,127 42.2 1,231,724 34.7

Of people in Greater Sydney aged 15 years and over who were born in Thailand, 44.9% were married, 3.2% were separated, and 7.5% were divorced.

Median age by registered marital status
People aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Married 37 -- 48 -- 48 -- 48 --
Separated 41 -- 49 -- 48 -- 49 --
Divorced 47 -- 53 -- 54 -- 54 --
Widowed 57 -- 76 -- 80 -- 78 --
Never married 29 -- 27 -- 25 -- 26 --

Of people who usually live in Greater Sydney and who were born in Thailand the median age of married people was 37 years. Of people never married, the median age was 29 years.

Education Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Pre-school 45 0.3 4,802 0.3 73,444 2.8 78,947 1.8
Primary 451 3.0 37,102 2.5 302,760 11.5 342,685 7.8
Secondary 712 4.7 47,072 3.1 233,627 8.9 283,259 6.4
University or tertiary institution 1,096 7.2 92,649 6.2 135,089 5.1 229,371 5.2
Technical or further education 1,237 8.2 45,962 3.1 58,276 2.2 105,390 2.4
Other 1,400 9.2 22,540 1.5 15,212 0.6 38,153 0.9
Institution attended, type not stated 459 3.0 40,425 2.7 77,986 3.0 312,899 7.1
Not attending an educational institution 9,761 64.4 1,213,070 80.7 1,736,152 65.9 3,000,969 68.3
Total 15,161 -- 1,503,622 -- 2,632,546 -- 4,391,673 --

Of the population born in Thailand who usually live in Greater Sydney, 35.6% were attending an educational institution. There were 3.0% in primary school, 4.7% in secondary school and 15.4% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Cultural & language diversity

Year of arrival Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Before 1941 4 0.0 4,047 0.3 -- -- -- --
1941 - 1950 0 0.0 22,599 1.5 -- -- -- --
1951 - 1960 7 0.0 70,485 4.7 -- -- -- --
1961 - 1970 110 0.7 141,202 9.4 -- -- -- --
1971 - 1980 565 3.7 164,033 10.9 -- -- -- --
1981 - 1990 2,528 16.7 263,041 17.5 -- -- -- --
1991 - 2000 3,098 20.4 292,403 19.4 -- -- -- --
2001 - 2005 2,858 18.9 182,774 12.2 -- -- -- --
2006 - 2011 5,175 34.1 301,461 20.0 -- -- -- --
Born in Australia -- -- -- -- 2,632,542 -- -- --

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand, 34.1% arrived in Australia from 2006 - 2011 and 18.9% from 2001 - 2005.

Citizenship Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Australian citizen 7,674 50.6 1,006,356 66.9 2,573,954 97.8 3,624,995 82.5
Not an Australian citizen 7,147 47.1 472,762 31.4 15,505 0.6 491,089 11.2

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand, 50.6% were Australian citizens.

Birthplace of spouse or partner Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Spouse or partner born overseas 4,875 67.0 696,893 78.1 176,438 19.0 877,929 48.0
Spouse or partner born in Australia 2,224 30.6 176,438 19.8 731,662 78.8 910,657 49.8

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand and had a spouse or partner, 67.0% had a spouse or partner who was born overseas and 30.6% had a spouse or partner born in Australia.

Religious affiliation, top responses
Results may include 'nfd' for 'not further defined'
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Buddhism 12,158 80.2 132,279 8.8 45,449 1.7 180,420 4.1
No Religion 791 5.2 281,845 18.7 486,130 18.5 774,949 17.6
Catholic 642 4.2 381,951 25.4 839,344 31.9 1,241,197 28.3
Baptist 358 2.4 23,988 1.6 39,131 1.5 64,042 1.5
Islam 219 1.4 114,522 7.6 89,130 3.4 208,149 4.7

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand, the most common responses to the religion question were Buddhism 80.2%, No Religion 5.2%, Catholic 4.2%, Baptist 2.4% and Islam 1.4%.

English language proficiency Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Speaks English only 2,234 14.7 484,602 32.2 2,212,272 84.0 2,732,448 62.2
Speaks other language and speaks English:  null  null  null  null  null  null  null  null
Very well or well 9,989 65.9 801,896 53.3 350,965 13.3 1,171,307 26.7
Not well or not at all 2,738 18.1 203,715 13.5 43,804 1.7 252,562 5.8

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand, 14.7% spoke English only at home. A further 65.9% spoke another language but also spoke English very well or well.

Employment

Employment
Labour force, people aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Worked full-time 4,678 47.3 555,219 63.1 789,059 61.4 1,358,192 62.1
Worked part-time 3,979 40.2 219,798 25.0 358,612 27.9 584,775 26.7
Away from work 519 5.2 45,674 5.2 72,172 5.6 120,301 5.5
Unemployed 717 7.2 59,037 6.7 64,854 5.0 125,586 5.7
Total in labour force 9,893 -- 879,728 -- 1,284,697 -- 2,188,854 --
Not in the labour force 4,177 29.4 526,863 36.9 597,964 31.4 1,149,800 32.4

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand and who were in the labour force, 47.3% worked full-time, 40.2% worked part-time and 7.2% were unemployed.

View the labour force fact sheet
Employment - hours worked
Labour force, people aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
1-15 hours per week 1,012 11.0 65,737 8.0 132,176 10.8 199,925 9.7
16-24 hours per week 2,075 22.6 81,579 9.9 113,588 9.3 197,293 9.6
25-34 hours per week 889 9.7 72,484 8.8 112,848 9.3 187,557 9.1
35-39 hours per week 1,917 20.9 175,908 21.4 200,913 16.5 381,226 18.5
40 hours or more per week 2,759 30.1 379,308 46.2 588,143 48.2 976,971 47.4

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand and who were employed, 30.1% worked 40 hours or more per week and 20.9% worked 35-39 hours per week.

Median age by employment status
Labour force, people aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Employed full-time 35 -- 42 -- 38 -- 40 --
Employed part-time 32 -- 41 -- 38 -- 39 --

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand the median age for those who were employed full-time was 35, while the median age for those employed part-time was 32.

Occupation, top responses
Employed people aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Labourers 1,866 20.3 75,834 9.2 72,970 6.0 151,325 7.3
Community and Personal Service Workers 1,743 19.0 67,529 8.2 112,374 9.2 182,058 8.8
Technicians and Trades Workers 1,607 17.5 96,520 11.8 151,688 12.4 251,471 12.2
Professionals 1,039 11.3 219,985 26.8 302,760 24.8 526,566 25.5
Clerical and Administrative Workers 918 10.0 120,362 14.7 209,829 17.2 333,436 16.2
Managers 734 8.0 105,557 12.9 166,080 13.6 273,916 13.3
Sales Workers 639 7.0 61,893 7.5 121,989 10.0 185,950 9.0
Machinery Operators And Drivers 439 4.8 54,806 6.7 61,374 5.0 118,137 5.7

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand, the most common responses for occupation were Labourers 20.3%, Community and Personal Service Workers 19.0%, Technicians and Trades Workers 17.5%, Professionals 11.3% and Clerical and Administrative Workers 10.0%.

Industry of employment, top responses
Employed people aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services 2,595 28.3 40,816 5.0 41,047 3.4 82,758 4.0
Building Cleaning, Pest Control and Gardening Services 430 4.7 14,841 1.8 11,910 1.0 27,138 1.3
Accommodation 332 3.6 9,606 1.2 8,401 0.7 18,227 0.9
Allied Health Services 265 2.9 11,296 1.4 16,053 1.3 27,609 1.3
Hospitals 252 2.7 29,973 3.7 35,148 2.9 65,763 3.2

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand, the most common responses for industry of employment were Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services 28.3%, Building Cleaning, Pest Control and Gardening Services 4.7%, Accommodation 3.6%, Allied Health Services 2.9% and Hospitals 2.7%.

Median weekly income
People aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Personal 424 -- 561 -- 670 -- 619 --
Family 1,374 -- 1,591 -- 1,815 -- 1,683 --
Household 1,462 -- 1,459 -- 1,427 -- 1,447 --

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand, the personal weekly median income was $424. Family median weekly income was $1,374 and Household median weekly income was $1,462.

Family and Household are determined for the selected country of birth, 'All overseas born' and 'Australian born' by the Reference Person and/or their spouse/partner's response to country of birth. See explanatory notes for more information.

View the income fact sheet
Travel to work
Employed people aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total

In Greater Sydney 39.5% of employed people who were born in Thailand, travelled to work on census day by car, while 33.4% travelled by bus or train.

Unpaid work
People aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total

In Greater Sydney 59.5% of people who were born in Thailand did unpaid domestic work in the week before the census, and 21.9% cared for a child or children in the two weeks before the census.

Unpaid domestic work, number of hours
People aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Thailand and who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the census, 21.0% worked 5 to 14 hours, 8.3% worked 15 to 29 hours and 7.1% worked 30 hours or more.

Families

family composition | weekly incomes | employment status of couple families

Family composition

For important information on how migrant families are classified, please see the explanatory notes

Family composition Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total

These statistics are for families in Greater Sydney. They are for families where the reference person was born in Thailand and also include households where the reference person was born in Australia, or did not state their country of birth, but had a partner or spouse who was born in Thailand. Of these families, 41.8% were couple families with children, 45.5% were couple families without children and 9.6% were one parent families.

Weekly incomes

Median family income, couple families with two incomes Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Families without children 1,660 -- 2,264 -- 2,348 -- 2,302 --
Families with children 2,059 -- 2,493 -- 2,593 -- 2,537 --

These statistics are for families in Greater Sydney. They are for families where the reference person was born in Thailand and also include households where the reference person was born in Australia, or did not state their country of birth, but had a partner or spouse who was born in Thailand. Of these families, the median weekly income for families without children was $1,660 and for families with children the median weekly income was $2,059.

View the income fact sheet

Employment status of couple families

Employment status of couple families
Labour force, people aged 15 years and over
Born in Thailand % Born in Thailand All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Both employed, worked full-time 1,423 24.3 128,653 23.4 94,309 24.2 224,360 23.6
Both employed, worked part-time 452 7.7 19,958 3.6 12,645 3.2 32,863 3.5
One employed full-time, one part-time 1,007 17.2 92,588 16.9 96,665 24.8 190,474 20.1
One employed full-time, other not working 1,500 25.6 106,273 19.4 58,709 15.1 166,220 17.5
One employed part-time, other not working 409 7.0 34,161 6.2 17,270 4.4 51,952 5.5
Both not working 504 8.6 108,615 19.8 60,066 15.4 172,175 18.1
Other 321 5.5 30,713 5.6 25,204 6.5 56,580 6.0
Labour force status not stated 249 4.2 27,852 5.1 24,380 6.3 54,978 5.8

These statistics are for families in Greater Sydney. They are for families where the reference person was born in Thailand and also include households where the reference person was born in Australia, or did not state their country of birth, but had a partner or spouse who was born in Thailand. Of these families, 24.3% of families had both parents working full-time, 17.2% of families had one parent working full-time and one parent working part-time, and 8.6% of families stated that both parents were not working.

Dwellings

dwelling structure | mortgage & rent | household composition

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

For important information on how migrant households are classified, please see the explanatory notes

Dwelling structure
Occupied private dwellings
People born in Thailand % People born in Thailand All birthplace responses % All birthplace responses Total % Total
Separate house 3,843 41.3 912,763 60.9 926,062 60.9
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc 1,108 11.9 190,696 12.7 194,171 12.8
Flat, unit or apartment 4,262 45.8 385,383 25.7 391,887 25.8
Other dwelling 70 0.8 6,774 0.5 7,004 0.5

These statistics are for occupied private dwellings in Greater Sydney. For the dwellings that were occupied on census night by a person or persons who were born in Thailand, 41.3% were a separate house, 45.8% were a flat, unit or apartment, and 11.9% were a semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc.

Number of bedrooms
Occupied private dwellings
People born in Thailand % People born in Thailand All birthplace responses % All birthplace responses Total % Total
None (includes bedsitters) 210 2.3 13,389 0.9 13,774 0.9
1 bedroom 1,026 11.0 97,946 6.5 99,953 6.6
2 bedrooms 3,370 36.2 373,170 24.9 378,829 24.9
3 bedrooms 2,686 28.9 552,318 36.9 559,719 36.8
4 or more bedrooms 1,842 19.8 438,014 29.2 441,256 29.0
Number of bedrooms not stated 175 1.9 23,010 1.5 27,867 1.8

These statistics are for occupied private dwellings in Greater Sydney. For the dwellings that were occupied on census night by a person or persons who were born in Thailand, 36.2% had two bedrooms, 28.9% had three bedrooms and 19.8% had four or more bedrooms.

Mortgage & rent

Mortgage and rent
Occupied private dwellings
People born in Thailand % People born in Thailand All birthplace responses % All birthplace responses Total % Total
Owned outright 1,516 16.3 454,255 30.3 462,150 30.4
Owned with a mortgage 2,956 31.8 526,810 35.2 529,906 34.8
Rented 4,602 49.4 474,428 31.7 480,608 31.6
Other tenure type 33 0.4 11,442 0.8 11,790 0.8
Tenure type not stated 202 2.2 30,912 2.1 36,943 2.4
Median monthly mortgage repayment 2,167 -- 2,167 -- 2,167 --
Median weekly rent paid 400 -- 360 -- 351 --

These statistics are for occupied private dwellings in Greater Sydney. For the dwellings that were occupied on census night by a person or persons who were born in Thailand, 16.3% were owned outright, 31.8% were owned with a mortgage and 49.4% were rented. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,167 and the median weekly rent paid was $400.

Household composition

Household composition People born in Thailand % People born in Thailand All birthplace responses % All birthplace responses Total % Total
One family households 6,932 75.7 1,063,594 71.0 1,074,295 70.6
Multiple family households 529 5.8 38,169 2.5 38,340 2.5
Single (or lone) person households 757 8.3 331,864 22.2 343,810 22.6
Group households 934 10.2 64,221 4.3 64,954 4.3

All occupants of a private dwelling complete one census form and are counted as a household. 'People born in Thailand' includes households in Greater Sydney where at least one person was born in Thailand. Of those households, 75.7% were one family households and 8.3% were lone person households.

Some values may have been adjusted to avoid release of confidential data. This may have a significant impact on the calculated percentages.