Cultural Diversity Increases – Australia’s Latest Migration Data

By: McCrindle

The latest migration data reveals Australia is increasingly culturally diverse. Three in ten Australians (29.7%) were born overseas according to the latest ABS migration data.

There really is no place like Australia, and with over 10 million households it is truly one of the best places to live on Earth. Australia is now home to 25.6 million residents, 7.5 million of which were born overseas revealing that our large island nation is really a global epicentre of cultural diversity.

text graphic which says 3 in 10 australians were born overseas (29.7%) which equals 7.5 million australians!

Global concerns amongst our dispersed families

The closing of our international boarders due to COVID-19 in March 2020 has meant Australia’s net overseas migration (NOM) has stopped for an undefined period while the global pandemic grips almost every nation across the planet. Even though our international borders are closed, many Australians still have international concerns for globally dispersed families.

Top 10 countries of birth

The latest data reveals that in the year up to June 30, 2019 Australia’s population increased by 239,600 due to net overseas migration. The top ten nations reveal the increasing influence of Asian migration towards Australia and a shift away from historical European migration towards Australia.

text graphic which reads cultural diversity is on the rise, with sri lanka now entering the top 10 and scotland exiting the top 10!

The top ten countries of birth for Australian who were born overseas includes:

Migration 2020

table which shows country and migration number. From highest to lowest, England 986,000, China 677,000, India 660,000, New Zealand, 570,000, Philippines 294,000, Vietnam 263,000, South Africa 194,000, Italy 183,000, Malaysia 176,000, Sri Lanka 140,000

text graphic which reads australia's desirability as a global destination is likely to increase due to our united and mostly successful response to COVID-19.

The future of migration towards Australia

Australia, at this point, has done very well in flattening the curve, saving lives, and stimulating the economy to save livelihoods. Global perceptions of Australia will improve due to the safety, speed and strength of our united people and strong leadership in government, business and the community through this unprecedented experience. The current borders are closed to migrants, however the future of Australia’s economic growth on the road out of COVID-19 will rely on migration and some global borders reopening when safe to do so from a health perspective. Until then, Australia’s population growth will only result from natural increase (births > deaths). It is likely, however, that the desirability of Australia will increase as we recover economically, socially and physically from a once in a century crisis.

image which shows text which says recovering from covid-19. explore how australians have been impacted by and responded to covid-19 and a button which says download the free report here.

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Article supplied with thanks to McCrindle.

About the Author: McCrindle are a team of researchers and communications specialists who discover insights, and tell the story of Australians – what we do, and who we are.