Australia's overseas-born population drops during pandemic

Media Release

Released

26/04/2022

Source

Australia's Population by Country of Birth, 2021

Almost a third (29.1 per cent) of Australia’s resident population were born overseas (7.5 million people) in 2021, down from 29.8 per cent a year earlier (7.7 million people), according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

This was the first decrease in the proportion of people born overseas in over 20 years (since 2000).

Jenny Dobak, Head of Migration Statistics at the ABS, said: "while Australia’s population increased by 45,000 from June 2020 to June 2021, there was a decrease in the overseas-born population."

“The decrease reflected reduced overseas migration in and out of Australia, given the COVID-19 travel restrictions. The travel and migration intentions of many people changed due to the pandemic, including those migrating to work or study."

"In the first year of the pandemic there were fewer people born overseas migrating to Australia, as well as fewer people born in Australia departing to live overseas.”

Percentage of overseas-born — Australia
Year	Percentage of overseas-born
1891	32.4
1892	31.5
1893	30.5
1894	29.5
1895	28.5
1896	27.6
1897	26.6
1898	25.6
1899	24.6
1900	23.6
1901	22.7
1902	22.1
1903	21.5
1904	21.0
1905	20.4
1906	19.8
1907	19.3
1908	18.7
1909	18.2
1910	17.6
1911	17.0
1912	16.9
1913	16.7
1914	16.5
1915	16.4
1916	16.2
1917	16.1
1918	15.9
1919	15.7
1920	15.6
1921	15.4
1922	15.3
1923	15.1
1924	15.0
1925	14.8
1926	14.7
1927	14.5
1928	14.4
1929	14.2
1930	14.1
1931	13.9
1932	13.8
1933	13.6
1934	13.4
1935	13.1
1936	12.8
1937	12.5
1938	12.3
1939	12.0
1940	11.7
1941	11.4
1942	11.2
1943	10.9
1944	10.6
1945	10.4
1946	10.1
1947	9.8
1948	10.5
1949	11.1
1950	11.7
1951	12.4
1952	13.0
1953	13.7
1954	14.3
1955	14.7
1956	15.1
1957	15.4
1958	15.8
1959	16.2
1960	16.6
1961	16.9
1962	17.2
1963	17.5
1964	17.8
1965	18.1
1966	18.4
1967	18.8
1968	19.2
1969	19.5
1970	19.9
1971	20.2
1972	20.2
1973	20.1
1974	20.0
1975	20.0
1976	19.9
1977	20.0
1978	20.2
1979	20.3
1980	20.4
1981	20.6
1982	20.7
1983	20.8
1984	20.9
1985	21.1
1986	21.2
1987	21.5
1988	22.0
1989	22.4
1990	22.8
1991	22.9
1992	23.0
1993	22.9
1994	22.9
1995	23.0
1996	23.3
1997	23.3
1998	23.2
1999	23.1
2000	23.0
2001	23.1
2002	23.3
2003	23.6
2004	23.8
2005	24.2
2006	24.6
2007	25.1
2008	25.8
2009	26.4
2010	26.7
2011	26.9
2012	27.3
2013	27.7
2014	28.0
2015	28.3
2016	28.6
2017	29.0
2018	29.4
2019	29.7
2020	29.8
2021	29.1

Percentage of overseas-born — Australia

["Year","Percentage of overseas-born"]

[["1891","1892","1893","1894","1895","1896","1897","1898","1899","1900","1901","1902","1903","1904","1905","1906","1907","1908","1909","1910","1911","1912","1913","1914","1915","1916","1917","1918","1919","1920","1921","1922","1923","1924","1925","1926","1927","1928","1929","1930","1931","1932","1933","1934","1935","1936","1937","1938","1939","1940","1941","1942","1943","1944","1945","1946","1947","1948","1949","1950","1951","1952","1953","1954","1955","1956","1957","1958","1959","1960","1961","1962","1963","1964","1965","1966","1967","1968","1969","1970","1971","1972","1973","1974","1975","1976","1977","1978","1979","1980","1981","1982","1983","1984","1985","1986","1987","1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021"],[[32.399999999999999],[31.5],[30.5],[29.5],[28.5],[27.600000000000001],[26.600000000000001],[25.600000000000001],[24.600000000000001],[23.600000000000001],[22.699999999999999],[22.100000000000001],[21.5],[21],[20.399999999999999],[19.800000000000001],[19.300000000000001],[18.699999999999999],[18.199999999999999],[17.600000000000001],[17],[16.899999999999999],[16.699999999999999],[16.5],[16.399999999999999],[16.199999999999999],[16.100000000000001],[15.9],[15.699999999999999],[15.6],[15.4],[15.300000000000001],[15.1],[15],[14.800000000000001],[14.699999999999999],[14.5],[14.4],[14.199999999999999],[14.1],[13.9],[13.800000000000001],[13.6],[13.4],[13.1],[12.800000000000001],[12.5],[12.300000000000001],[12],[11.699999999999999],[11.4],[11.199999999999999],[10.9],[10.6],[10.4],[10.1],[9.8000000000000007],[10.5],[11.1],[11.699999999999999],[12.4],[13],[13.699999999999999],[14.300000000000001],[14.699999999999999],[15.1],[15.4],[15.800000000000001],[16.199999999999999],[16.600000000000001],[16.899999999999999],[17.199999999999999],[17.5],[17.800000000000001],[18.100000000000001],[18.399999999999999],[18.800000000000001],[19.199999999999999],[19.5],[19.899999999999999],[20.199999999999999],[20.199999999999999],[20.100000000000001],[20],[20],[19.899999999999999],[20],[20.199999999999999],[20.300000000000001],[20.399999999999999],[20.600000000000001],[20.699999999999999],[20.800000000000001],[20.899999999999999],[21.100000000000001],[21.199999999999999],[21.5],[22],[22.399999999999999],[22.800000000000001],[22.899999999999999],[23],[22.899999999999999],[22.899999999999999],[23],[23.300000000000001],[23.300000000000001],[23.199999999999999],[23.100000000000001],[23],[23.100000000000001],[23.300000000000001],[23.600000000000001],[23.800000000000001],[24.199999999999999],[24.600000000000001],[25.100000000000001],[25.800000000000001],[26.399999999999999],[26.699999999999999],[26.899999999999999],[27.300000000000001],[27.699999999999999],[28],[28.300000000000001],[28.600000000000001],[29],[29.399999999999999],[29.699999999999999],[29.800000000000001],[29.100000000000001]]]

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England continued to be the birthplace of the largest group of overseas-born Australian residents (967,000 people), followed by India (710,000 people).

Australia's overseas-born population by country of birth — top 10(a)
	2011	2021
Country of birth	'000	'000
England	991	967
India	337	710
China	387	596
New Zealand	544	560
Philippines	193	311
Vietnam	208	268
South Africa	162	202
Malaysia	134	172
Italy	202	172
Sri Lanka	100	146
Total overseas-born	6,018	7,502
Australian-born	16,322	18,236
Total population	22,340	25,738

a. Top 10 countries of birth for overseas-born as at 30 June 2021.

For more information see the ABS publication Australia’s Population by Country of Birth, 2021.

Media notes

Australia's population by country of birth and migration data are preliminary for 2021 and subject to revision.
When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
Please note this publication is separate from the 2021 Census data which is due for release from June 2022. Visit the Census release guide for further information.
For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au (8.30am-5pm AEST Mon-Fri).
Subscribe to our media release notification service to get notified of ABS media releases or publications upon their release.

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Australia's overseas-born population drops during pandemic

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