People in Greater Sydney who were born in Iraq

2011 Census Country of birth QuickStats
Geography type Greater Capital City Statistical Areas by Country of Birth of Person
Area code 1GSYD by 4204
People 28,848
Male 14,576
Female 14,272
Australian citizen 71.4%
Not an Australian citizen 26.0%
Families 10,707
Couples with children 7,125
Couples without children 1,590
One parent families 1,810
Other families 182
All private dwellings 11,579
Median monthly mortgage repayment $2,000
Median weekly rent paid $325

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People

demographics & education | cultural & language diversity | employment

Demographics & education

People Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Total 28,848 -- 1,503,622 -- 2,632,544 -- 4,391,674 --
Male 14,576 50.5 732,640 48.7 1,297,756 49.3 2,162,221 49.2
Female 14,272 49.5 770,982 51.3 1,334,788 50.7 2,229,453 50.8

In the 2011 Census, there were 28,848 people in Greater Sydney who were born in Iraq. Of these 50.5% were male and 49.5% were female.

Age
People
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
0-14 years 2,040 7.1 74,548 5.0 728,662 27.7 843,215 19.2
15-24 years 4,932 17.1 141,588 9.4 408,539 15.5 583,044 13.3
25-34 years 5,415 18.8 283,288 18.8 348,945 13.3 676,894 15.4
35-44 years 6,042 20.9 270,620 18.0 346,543 13.2 653,488 14.9
45-54 years 5,097 17.7 271,419 18.1 290,676 11.0 594,979 13.5
55-64 years 2,899 10.0 217,588 14.5 231,047 8.8 475,608 10.8
65 years and over 2,424 8.4 244,570 16.3 278,132 10.6 564,445 12.9
Median age 38 -- 44 -- 29 -- 36 --

Of the population born in Iraq who usually live in Greater Sydney, 7.1% were aged 0 - 14 years and 8.4% were aged 65 years and over. The median age of people in Greater Sydney who were born in Iraq was 38 years.

Registered marital status
People aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Married 15,843 59.1 858,600 60.1 814,562 42.8 1,764,144 49.7
Separated 1,309 4.9 42,791 3.0 50,385 2.6 100,407 2.8
Divorced 1,220 4.6 105,427 7.4 144,375 7.6 269,463 7.6
Widowed 1,266 4.7 76,938 5.4 90,434 4.7 182,720 5.1
Never married 7,167 26.7 345,318 24.2 804,127 42.2 1,231,724 34.7

Of people in Greater Sydney aged 15 years and over who were born in Iraq, 59.1% were married, 4.9% were separated, and 4.6% were divorced.

Median age by registered marital status
People aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Married 43 -- 48 -- 48 -- 48 --
Separated 43 -- 49 -- 48 -- 49 --
Divorced 46 -- 53 -- 54 -- 54 --
Widowed 68 -- 76 -- 80 -- 78 --
Never married 23 -- 27 -- 25 -- 26 --

Of people who usually live in Greater Sydney and who were born in Iraq the median age of married people was 43 years. Of people never married, the median age was 23 years.

Education Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Pre-school 49 0.2 4,802 0.3 73,444 2.8 78,947 1.8
Primary 860 3.0 37,102 2.5 302,760 11.5 342,685 7.8
Secondary 2,061 7.1 47,072 3.1 233,627 8.9 283,259 6.4
University or tertiary institution 1,118 3.9 92,649 6.2 135,089 5.1 229,371 5.2
Technical or further education 1,824 6.3 45,962 3.1 58,276 2.2 105,390 2.4
Other 775 2.7 22,540 1.5 15,212 0.6 38,153 0.9
Institution attended, type not stated 1,543 5.3 40,425 2.7 77,986 3.0 312,899 7.1
Not attending an educational institution 20,617 71.5 1,213,070 80.7 1,736,152 65.9 3,000,969 68.3
Total 28,847 -- 1,503,622 -- 2,632,546 -- 4,391,673 --

Of the population born in Iraq who usually live in Greater Sydney, 28.5% were attending an educational institution. There were 3.0% in primary school, 7.1% in secondary school and 10.2% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Cultural & language diversity

Year of arrival Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Before 1941 3 0.0 4,047 0.3 -- -- -- --
1941 - 1950 15 0.1 22,599 1.5 -- -- -- --
1951 - 1960 18 0.1 70,485 4.7 -- -- -- --
1961 - 1970 843 2.9 141,202 9.4 -- -- -- --
1971 - 1980 1,066 3.7 164,033 10.9 -- -- -- --
1981 - 1990 1,155 4.0 263,041 17.5 -- -- -- --
1991 - 2000 10,264 35.6 292,403 19.4 -- -- -- --
2001 - 2005 5,980 20.7 182,774 12.2 -- -- -- --
2006 - 2011 8,604 29.8 301,461 20.0 -- -- -- --
Born in Australia -- -- -- -- 2,632,542 -- -- --

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq, 29.8% arrived in Australia from 2006 - 2011 and 20.7% from 2001 - 2005.

Citizenship Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Australian citizen 20,596 71.4 1,006,356 66.9 2,573,954 97.8 3,624,995 82.5
Not an Australian citizen 7,496 26.0 472,762 31.4 15,505 0.6 491,089 11.2

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq, 71.4% were Australian citizens.

Birthplace of spouse or partner Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Spouse or partner born overseas 14,845 96.0 696,893 78.1 176,438 19.0 877,929 48.0
Spouse or partner born in Australia 454 2.9 176,438 19.8 731,662 78.8 910,657 49.8

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq and had a spouse or partner, 96.0% had a spouse or partner who was born overseas and 2.9% had a spouse or partner born in Australia.

Religious affiliation, top responses
Results may include 'nfd' for 'not further defined'
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Catholic 9,778 33.9 381,951 25.4 839,344 31.9 1,241,197 28.3
Islam 6,834 23.7 114,522 7.6 89,130 3.4 208,149 4.7
Assyrian Apostolic 4,798 16.6 6,146 0.4 2,422 0.1 8,674 0.2
Miscellaneous Religions 2,773 9.6 6,097 0.4 2,261 0.1 8,449 0.2
Eastern Orthodox 1,250 4.3 78,900 5.2 101,575 3.9 184,045 4.2

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq, the most common responses to the religion question were Catholic 33.9%, Islam 23.7%, Assyrian Apostolic 16.6%, Miscellaneous Religions 9.6% and Eastern Orthodox 4.3%.

English language proficiency Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Speaks English only 767 2.7 484,602 32.2 2,212,272 84.0 2,732,448 62.2
Speaks other language and speaks English:  null  null  null  null  null  null  null  null
Very well or well 19,247 66.7 801,896 53.3 350,965 13.3 1,171,307 26.7
Not well or not at all 8,429 29.2 203,715 13.5 43,804 1.7 252,562 5.8

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq, 2.7% spoke English only at home. A further 66.7% spoke another language but also spoke English very well or well.

Employment

Employment
Labour force, people aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Worked full-time 4,452 48.4 555,219 63.1 789,059 61.4 1,358,192 62.1
Worked part-time 2,695 29.3 219,798 25.0 358,612 27.9 584,775 26.7
Away from work 663 7.2 45,674 5.2 72,172 5.6 120,301 5.5
Unemployed 1,379 15.0 59,037 6.7 64,854 5.0 125,586 5.7
Total in labour force 9,189 -- 879,728 -- 1,284,697 -- 2,188,854 --
Not in the labour force 17,092 63.8 526,863 36.9 597,964 31.4 1,149,800 32.4

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq and who were in the labour force, 48.4% worked full-time, 29.3% worked part-time and 15.0% were unemployed.

View the labour force fact sheet
Employment - hours worked
Labour force, people aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
1-15 hours per week 961 12.3 65,737 8.0 132,176 10.8 199,925 9.7
16-24 hours per week 848 10.9 81,579 9.9 113,588 9.3 197,293 9.6
25-34 hours per week 888 11.4 72,484 8.8 112,848 9.3 187,557 9.1
35-39 hours per week 1,779 22.8 175,908 21.4 200,913 16.5 381,226 18.5
40 hours or more per week 2,672 34.2 379,308 46.2 588,143 48.2 976,971 47.4

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq and who were employed, 34.2% worked 40 hours or more per week and 22.8% worked 35-39 hours per week.

Median age by employment status
Labour force, people aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Employed full-time 39 -- 42 -- 38 -- 40 --
Employed part-time 38 -- 41 -- 38 -- 39 --

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq the median age for those who were employed full-time was 39, while the median age for those employed part-time was 38.

Occupation, top responses
Employed people aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Technicians and Trades Workers 1,378 17.6 96,520 11.8 151,688 12.4 251,471 12.2
Labourers 1,213 15.5 75,834 9.2 72,970 6.0 151,325 7.3
Machinery Operators And Drivers 1,002 12.8 54,806 6.7 61,374 5.0 118,137 5.7
Professionals 1,001 12.8 219,985 26.8 302,760 24.8 526,566 25.5
Clerical and Administrative Workers 835 10.7 120,362 14.7 209,829 17.2 333,436 16.2
Sales Workers 752 9.6 61,893 7.5 121,989 10.0 185,950 9.0
Managers 675 8.6 105,557 12.9 166,080 13.6 273,916 13.3
Community and Personal Service Workers 665 8.5 67,529 8.2 112,374 9.2 182,058 8.8

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq, the most common responses for occupation were Technicians and Trades Workers 17.6%, Labourers 15.5%, Machinery Operators And Drivers 12.8%, Professionals 12.8% and Clerical and Administrative Workers 10.7%.

Industry of employment, top responses
Employed people aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Supermarket and Grocery Stores 323 4.1 14,462 1.8 24,161 2.0 39,065 1.9
Building Cleaning, Pest Control and Gardening Services 307 3.9 14,841 1.8 11,910 1.0 27,138 1.3
Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services 281 3.6 40,816 5.0 41,047 3.4 82,758 4.0
Road Freight Transport 244 3.1 10,773 1.3 20,623 1.7 31,963 1.5
Building Completion Services 228 2.9 10,066 1.2 12,592 1.0 22,945 1.1

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq, the most common responses for industry of employment were Supermarket and Grocery Stores 4.1%, Building Cleaning, Pest Control and Gardening Services 3.9%, Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services 3.6%, Road Freight Transport 3.1% and Building Completion Services 2.9%.

Median weekly income
People aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Personal 295 -- 561 -- 670 -- 619 --
Family 854 -- 1,591 -- 1,815 -- 1,683 --
Household 867 -- 1,459 -- 1,427 -- 1,447 --

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq, the personal weekly median income was $295. Family median weekly income was $854 and Household median weekly income was $867.

Family and Household are determined for the selected country of birth, 'All overseas born' and 'Australian born' by the Reference Person and/or their spouse/partner's response to country of birth. See explanatory notes for more information.

View the income fact sheet
Travel to work
Employed people aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total

In Greater Sydney 73.5% of employed people who were born in Iraq, travelled to work on census day by car, while 8.1% travelled by bus or train.

Unpaid work
People aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total

In Greater Sydney 38.5% of people who were born in Iraq did unpaid domestic work in the week before the census, and 26.7% cared for a child or children in the two weeks before the census.

Unpaid domestic work, number of hours
People aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total

In Greater Sydney of people who were born in Iraq and who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the census, 12.0% worked 5 to 14 hours, 5.7% worked 15 to 29 hours and 8.1% worked 30 hours or more.

Families

family composition | weekly incomes | employment status of couple families

Family composition

For important information on how migrant families are classified, please see the explanatory notes

Family composition Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total

These statistics are for families in Greater Sydney. They are for families where the reference person was born in Iraq and also include households where the reference person was born in Australia, or did not state their country of birth, but had a partner or spouse who was born in Iraq. Of these families, 66.5% were couple families with children, 14.9% were couple families without children and 16.9% were one parent families.

Weekly incomes

Median family income, couple families with two incomes Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Families without children 1,871 -- 2,264 -- 2,348 -- 2,302 --
Families with children 1,997 -- 2,493 -- 2,593 -- 2,537 --

These statistics are for families in Greater Sydney. They are for families where the reference person was born in Iraq and also include households where the reference person was born in Australia, or did not state their country of birth, but had a partner or spouse who was born in Iraq. Of these families, the median weekly income for families without children was $1,871 and for families with children the median weekly income was $1,997.

View the income fact sheet

Employment status of couple families

Employment status of couple families
Labour force, people aged 15 years and over
Born in Iraq % Born in Iraq All overseas born % All overseas born Australian born % Australian born Total % Total
Both employed, worked full-time 597 6.8 128,653 23.4 94,309 24.2 224,360 23.6
Both employed, worked part-time 132 1.5 19,958 3.6 12,645 3.2 32,863 3.5
One employed full-time, one part-time 525 6.0 92,588 16.9 96,665 24.8 190,474 20.1
One employed full-time, other not working 1,327 15.2 106,273 19.4 58,709 15.1 166,220 17.5
One employed part-time, other not working 1,028 11.8 34,161 6.2 17,270 4.4 51,952 5.5
Both not working 4,378 50.2 108,615 19.8 60,066 15.4 172,175 18.1
Other 342 3.9 30,713 5.6 25,204 6.5 56,580 6.0
Labour force status not stated 387 4.4 27,852 5.1 24,380 6.3 54,978 5.8

These statistics are for families in Greater Sydney. They are for families where the reference person was born in Iraq and also include households where the reference person was born in Australia, or did not state their country of birth, but had a partner or spouse who was born in Iraq. Of these families, 6.8% of families had both parents working full-time, 6.0% of families had one parent working full-time and one parent working part-time, and 50.2% of families stated that both parents were not working.

Dwellings

dwelling structure | mortgage & rent | household composition

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

For important information on how migrant households are classified, please see the explanatory notes

Dwelling structure
Occupied private dwellings
People born in Iraq % People born in Iraq All birthplace responses % All birthplace responses Total % Total
Separate house 6,524 56.3 912,763 60.9 926,062 60.9
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc 2,161 18.7 190,696 12.7 194,171 12.8
Flat, unit or apartment 2,845 24.6 385,383 25.7 391,887 25.8
Other dwelling 27 0.2 6,774 0.5 7,004 0.5

These statistics are for occupied private dwellings in Greater Sydney. For the dwellings that were occupied on census night by a person or persons who were born in Iraq, 56.3% were a separate house, 24.6% were a flat, unit or apartment, and 18.7% were a semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc.

Number of bedrooms
Occupied private dwellings
People born in Iraq % People born in Iraq All birthplace responses % All birthplace responses Total % Total
None (includes bedsitters) 93 0.8 13,389 0.9 13,774 0.9
1 bedroom 516 4.5 97,946 6.5 99,953 6.6
2 bedrooms 2,919 25.2 373,170 24.9 378,829 24.9
3 bedrooms 4,767 41.2 552,318 36.9 559,719 36.8
4 or more bedrooms 3,033 26.2 438,014 29.2 441,256 29.0
Number of bedrooms not stated 248 2.1 23,010 1.5 27,867 1.8

These statistics are for occupied private dwellings in Greater Sydney. For the dwellings that were occupied on census night by a person or persons who were born in Iraq, 25.2% had two bedrooms, 41.2% had three bedrooms and 26.2% had four or more bedrooms.

Mortgage & rent

Mortgage and rent
Occupied private dwellings
People born in Iraq % People born in Iraq All birthplace responses % All birthplace responses Total % Total
Owned outright 1,065 9.2 454,255 30.3 462,150 30.4
Owned with a mortgage 3,236 27.9 526,810 35.2 529,906 34.8
Rented 6,922 59.8 474,428 31.7 480,608 31.6
Other tenure type 58 0.5 11,442 0.8 11,790 0.8
Tenure type not stated 298 2.6 30,912 2.1 36,943 2.4
Median monthly mortgage repayment 2,000 -- 2,167 -- 2,167 --
Median weekly rent paid 325 -- 360 -- 351 --

These statistics are for occupied private dwellings in Greater Sydney. For the dwellings that were occupied on census night by a person or persons who were born in Iraq, 9.2% were owned outright, 27.9% were owned with a mortgage and 59.8% were rented. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,000 and the median weekly rent paid was $325.

Household composition

Household composition People born in Iraq % People born in Iraq All birthplace responses % All birthplace responses Total % Total
One family households 9,548 82.9 1,063,594 71.0 1,074,295 70.6
Multiple family households 665 5.8 38,169 2.5 38,340 2.5
Single (or lone) person households 1,090 9.5 331,864 22.2 343,810 22.6
Group households 220 1.9 64,221 4.3 64,954 4.3

All occupants of a private dwelling complete one census form and are counted as a household. 'People born in Iraq' includes households in Greater Sydney where at least one person was born in Iraq. Of those households, 82.9% were one family households and 9.5% were lone person households.

Some values may have been adjusted to avoid release of confidential data. This may have a significant impact on the calculated percentages.