COUNTRY OF BIRTH
Australia's overseas-born population accounted for 30% of deaths registered in 2008 (43,100 deaths), despite making up only 26% of the resident population in 2008. This is due to the older age structure of the overseas-born population (with a median age of 45.7 years in 2008) compared with the Australian-born population (with a median age of 33.2 years).
However, when the older age structure of the overseas-born population is taken into account, migrants generally have lower death rates than the Australian-born population. This is true for nearly all migrant groups.
Indirect standardised death rates (ISDRs) allow comparisons of mortality between populations with different age and sex structures. In 2008, men born overseas had an ISDR of 6.6 deaths per 1,000 standard population, 12% lower than the rate for men born in Australia (7.6). Women born overseas had an ISDR of 4.7 deaths per 1,000 standard population, 13% lower than the rate for women born in Australia (5.4).
For individual birthplaces, ISDRs differ markedly. Rates for Australians born in New Zealand (6.0), the United States of America (5.7) and Western European countries such as Germany (5.5) and the Netherlands (5.7) were similar to that of Australian-born persons (6.3) in 2008, while rates for Southern European birthplaces (Italy and Greece) were lower (5.2 and 4.6 respectively). Australian residents born in South-East and North-East Asian countries recorded the lowest ISDRs in 2008: people born in Japan recorded 4.1 deaths per 1,000 standard population, while people born in Malaysia recorded 4.0. People born in China recorded the lowest ISDR of the selected birthplaces in 2008, with 3.5 deaths per 1,000 standard population (44% lower than the rate for the Australian-born population).
2.8 INDIRECT STANDARDISED DEATH RATES(a), Country of birth of Australian residents-2008
Of the 43,100 deaths of Australians born overseas for whom duration of residence in Australia was known, 65% had resided in Australia for 40 years or more. A further 15% had resided in Australia for 30-39 years, and 10% for 20-29 years. The remaining 11% of deaths of the overseas-born population were of persons who had resided in Australia for less than 20 years. In 2008 the median duration of residence for deaths registered in Australia of overseas-born persons was 46.9 years.
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