QuickStats Country of Birth explanatory notes

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Explanatory notes

About QuickStats Country of Birth

This QuickStats product is new for 2011 Census data and presents selected population characteristics based on a person's country of birth, as stated in responses on the 2011 Census form. It provides a wealth of information about people who were born overseas, and includes data for migrant families and households, as well as characteristics for Australian-born people. The product contains explanations for each classification via hover-over text and links to the 2011 Census Dictionary for users to obtain further definitions and concepts.

Available countries

Not all countries are represented in QuickStats Country of Birth; only the top 53 countries containing high population counts are available. Countries with smaller populations are excluded, because data is randomly adjusted to avoid release of confidential data and this has a significant impact on small counts. For further information please see the list of countries & geographies.

Available geographic areas

The QuickStats Country of Birth is limited to three types of geographic area:

Australia
State
Greater Capital City Statistical Areas.

For further information please see the list of countries & geographies.

Reference Person Definition

Country of Birth QuickStats contains family and household tables which relate to a specific Reference Person. This Reference Person is determined by Person 1 on the Census form, and is the main determinant of the family relationships within the household. Please see Reference Person in the 2011 Census Dictionary for further information.

Dwelling and Household Definitions

Dwellings and Households are terms that are used extensively throughout QuickStats and, although similar in nature, their definitions are quite different as stipulated by the ABS.

Dwellings

In general terms, a 'dwelling' is a structure which has people living in it. For QuickStats we count occupied private dwellings, where at least one person was present on Census Night.

Private dwellings are those where families and relationships can be captured or counted; non-private dwellings such as hotels, motels, hospitals etc are excluded. When data on dwellings appears in QuickStats it is counting all types of private dwellings, regardless of the type of family characteristics within the dwelling.

For QuickStats Country of Birth the ABS provides data relating to migrant dwellings – that is, those dwellings that include at least one individual who was born overseas. This means that the migrant dwelling count captures all dwellings where any individual within that dwelling was born overseas, not just dwellings where a parent was born in a particular country.

Households

'Household' indicates whether there is a family within a dwelling by using a household composition classification, as defined by the ABS. It includes categories such as 'one family household', 'multiple family households', 'group household', and 'lone person household'.

People: definition of columns

Born in 'selected country of birth'	All overseas born	Australian born	Total
This total includes the people whose stated country of birth matches the country of birth selected.	This is the total for all people who stated an overseas country of birth and includes the people born in the 'selected country of birth' column.	This is the total for people who stated that their country of birth was Australia.	This is the total of 'All overseas born', plus 'Australian born' plus those people who did not state a country of birth.

Families: definition of columns

Born in 'selected country of birth'	All overseas born	Australian born	Total
The family is included where the Reference Person and/or their spouse or partner stated a country of birth matching the country of birth selected. Where the Reference Person and their spouse or partner stated different countries of birth, the country of birth for the migrant family is determined by the Reference Person's response. However, where the Reference Person stated their country of birth was Australia, or did not state their country of birth, but their spouse or partner's country of birth was overseas (i.e. a blended Australian born/overseas born partnership) this is regarded as a migrant family and the country of birth is determined by their spouse or partner's response.	This is the total for families where the Reference Person and/or their spouse or partner stated an overseas country of birth. It includes the 'selected country of birth' total.	An Australian born family is where both the Reference Person and their spouse or partner stated their country of birth was Australia. It also includes families where either the Reference Person or their spouse or partner was born in Australia but the other person did not state their country of birth.	This is the total of 'All overseas born', plus 'Australian born' as well as families where both the Reference Person and their spouse or partner did not state a country of birth.

Dwellings and Households: Definition of columns

Born in 'selected country of birth'	All birthplace responses	Total
The dwelling or household is included where at least one person in the dwelling stated they were born in the country of birth matching the country of birth selected.	The dwelling or household is included where at least one person in the dwelling stated a country of birth (including the 'selected country of birth' total).	This is the total of all dwellings (including those where nobody in the dwelling stated a country of birth).

QuickStats

QuickStats Country of Birth