Of permanent migrants:
- 58% were primary applicants – the remainder were secondary
- 53% were female
- 13% arrived in the five years prior to the 2021 Census.
Characteristics of permanent migrants who arrived in Australia between 1 January 2000 and 10 August 2021.
In August 2021:
Of permanent migrants:
The statistics used in this release are from the Australian Census and Migrants Integrated Dataset (ACMID) which links data from the 2021 Census of Population and Housing with the Department of Home Affairs Settlement Database.
Previous releases of these statistics were published in: Understanding Migrant Outcomes - Insights from the Australian Census and Migrants Integrated Dataset, Australia.
For more information on migrant data sources see Understanding migrant statistics in the Census and other data sources.
Permanent migrants by visa stream were made up of:
The median age of permanent migrants was 37 years, slightly lower than the median age of the Australian population (38 years) as reported in the 2021 Census.
Median ages by visa stream were:
The highest proportion of:
Location | Skilled (%) | Family (%) | Humanitarian (%) | All permanent migrants(a) (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Greater Sydney | 27.3 | 32.5 | 30.5 | 29.3 |
Rest of New South Wales | 3.1 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
Greater Melbourne | 26.4 | 25.9 | 30.5 | 26.6 |
Rest of Victoria | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 2.1 |
Greater Brisbane | 9.9 | 9.3 | 9.5 | 9.7 |
Rest of Queensland | 5.9 | 6.3 | 3.2 | 5.8 |
Greater Adelaide | 5.8 | 4.4 | 8.3 | 5.6 |
Rest of South Australia | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
Greater Perth | 13.9 | 10.0 | 8.3 | 12.1 |
Rest of Western Australia | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.1 |
Greater Hobart | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
Rest of Tasmania | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
Greater Darwin | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
Rest of Northern Territory | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
Australian Capital Territory | 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 2.0 |
Australia(b) | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Skilled | Family | Humanitarian | All permanent migrants(b) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | India | 356,100 | China (c) | 133,000 | Iraq | 62,400 | India | 439,700 |
2 | England | 197,300 | India | 81,900 | Afghanistan | 30,700 | China (c) | 334,900 |
3 | China (c) | 196,500 | England | 79,700 | Myanmar | 21,100 | England | 277,500 |
4 | Philippines | 103,200 | Philippines | 64,000 | Syria | 20,900 | Philippines | 167,400 |
5 | South Africa | 101,300 | Vietnam | 61,500 | Iran | 17,300 | South Africa | 118,200 |
6 | Australia (d) | 65,300 | Thailand | 34,400 | Sudan | 12,300 | Vietnam | 82,400 |
7 | Malaysia | 52,000 | United States of America | 27,300 | South Sudan | 7,000 | Australia (d) | 75,900 |
8 | Sri Lanka | 48,300 | Indonesia | 21,000 | Pakistan | 6,600 | Iraq | 72,700 |
9 | Korea, Republic of (South) | 40,700 | Afghanistan | 18,900 | Thailand | 5,800 | Malaysia | 69,200 |
10 | Pakistan | 39,000 | Korea, Republic of (South) | 18,700 | Ethiopia | 5,700 | Sri Lanka | 67,700 |
More than half (1.8 million or 59%) of permanent migrants were Australian citizens.
Australian citizenship by visa stream was:
Of the top ten countries of birth, permanent migrants born in South Africa were the most likely to be Australian citizens (74%), the least likely were migrants born in China (36%).
Country of birth | Proportion (%)(c) |
---|---|
South Africa | 73.8 |
Australia(d) | 71.7 |
Sri Lanka | 71.0 |
Philippines | 68.5 |
England | 65.9 |
India | 64.4 |
Vietnam | 60.6 |
Iraq | 55.4 |
Malaysia | 39.3 |
China(e) | 36.5 |
Of permanent migrants:
The proportion of permanent migrants with a long-term health condition varied by visa stream:
The most prevalent long-term health condition for permanent migrants was Asthma (3.9%).
The highest reported long-term health conditions by visa stream were:
Country of birth | Persons | Proportion (%)(c) |
---|---|---|
China(d) | 101,800 | 30.5 |
Vietnam | 32,500 | 39.5 |
Iraq | 26,000 | 35.9 |
Afghanistan | 15,700 | 31.6 |
Korea, Republic of (South) | 13,700 | 23.1 |
Myanmar | 12,900 | 47.9 |
India | 10,800 | 2.5 |
Syria | 9,200 | 36.7 |
Thailand | 6,900 | 14.5 |
Cambodia | 5,800 | 43.4 |
Of permanent migrants aged 15 years and over:
For employed permanent migrants, the most common occupation by visa stream was:
Occupation | Persons | Proportion (%)(b) |
---|---|---|
Business, Human Resource and Marketing Professionals | 158,500 | 8.2 |
Specialist Managers | 148,100 | 7.7 |
Health Professionals | 147,400 | 7.7 |
Carers and Aides | 135,200 | 7.0 |
ICT Professionals | 107,500 | 5.6 |
Design, Engineering, Science and Transport Professionals | 85,600 | 4.5 |
Sales Assistants and Salespersons | 79,500 | 4.1 |
Hospitality, Retail and Service Managers | 73,900 | 3.8 |
Education Professionals | 62,000 | 3.2 |
Numerical Clerks | 58,100 | 3.0 |
The median individual weekly income of permanent migrants aged 15 years and over was $963. This was higher than the median for the total Australian population aged 15 years and over ($805) as reported in the 2021 Census.
Median individual weekly incomes by visa stream were:
First visa type | Skilled (%) | Family (%) | Humanitarian (%) | All permanent migrants(c)(%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Temporary Skilled | 21.9 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 13.4 |
Temporary Student | 25.8 | 12.8 | 3.7 | 19.6 |
Temporary Working Holiday Maker | 4.4 | 8.8 | 0.1 | 5.4 |
Temporary Other | 2.7 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 2.4 |
Special Category (New Zealand Citizen) | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.4 |
Permanent visa | 43.2 | 74.6 | 92.6 | 57.9 |
Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |