People in Australia who were born in China

Demographics & education

In the 2016 Census, there were 509,557 people in Australia who were born in China. Of these 44.0% were male and 56.0% were female.

View the data quality statements for: Place of Usual Residence (PURP) Country of birth of person (BPLP)

Of the population born in China who usually live in Australia, 4.0% were aged 0 - 14 years and 9.2% were aged 65 years and over. The median age of people in Australia who were born in China was 33 years.

Of people in Australia aged 15 years and over who were born in China, 53.4% were married, 1.6% were separated, and 5.8% were divorced.

Of the population born in China who usually live in Australia, 34.2% were attending an educational institution. There were 2.0% in primary school, 4.1% in secondary school and 24.6% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of the population born in China who usually live in Australia, 27.3% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 3.2% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 8.6% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

In Australia of people who were born in China, 37.4% arrived in Australia from 2011 - 2016 and 22.0% from 2006 - 2010.

In Australia of people who were born in China, 36.3% were Australian citizens.

In Australia of people who were born in China and had a spouse or partner, 91.3% had a spouse or partner who was born overseas and 5.4% had a spouse or partner born in Australia.

Note: Total does not include those spouses or partners who did not state their country of birth.

View the data quality statements for: Country of birth of person (BPLP) Relationship in household (RLHP) Family/household reference person indicator (RPIP)

In Australia of people who were born in China, the most common responses to the religion question were No Religion, so described 73.4%, Buddhism 10.9%, Catholic 2.4%, Christian, nfd 2.3% and Baptist 1.5%.

In Australia of people who were born in China, 2.6% spoke English only at home. A further 65.8% spoke another language but also spoke English very well or well.

Employment

In Australia of people who were born in China and who were in the labour force, 55.0% worked full-time, 28.9% worked part-time and 11.8% were unemployed.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

In Australia of people who were born in China and who were employed, 37.0% worked 40 hours or more per week and 25.3% worked 35-39 hours per week.

In Australia of people who were born in China, the most common responses for occupation were Professionals 28.2%, Managers 13.7%, Technicians and Trades Workers 11.4%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 11.3% and Sales Workers 10.6%.

In Australia of people who were born in China, the most common responses for industry of employment were Cafes and Restaurants 7.2%, Takeaway Food Services 2.9%, Higher Education 2.6%, Computer System Design and Related Services 2.6% and Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 2.6%.

In Australia of people who were born in China, the personal weekly median income was $374. Family median weekly income was $1,303 and Household median weekly income was $1,257.

Median personal weekly income for persons aged 15 years and over born in the selected country. Excludes those who did not state an income.

Family for the selected country of birth is determined by the reference person and/or their spouse/partner's response to country of birth. Median family income excludes families where at least one family member aged 15 years and over did not state an income.

Household for the selected country of birth is determined by the response of any household member (enumerated in the dwelling) to country of birth. Median household income excludes households where at least one member aged 15 years and over did not state an income.

View the data quality statements for: Total personal income (INCP) Total family income (FINF) Total household income (HIND)

In Australia 55.4% of employed people who were born in China travelled to work on census day by car, while 21.1% travelled by bus or train.

In Australia 57.2% of people who were born in China did unpaid domestic work in the week before the census, and 27.0% cared for a child or children in the two weeks before the census.

View the data quality statements for: Unpaid domestic work (DOMP) Unpaid child care (CHCAREP) Unpaid assistance (UNCAREP) Voluntary work (VOLWP)

In Australia of people who were born in China and who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the census, 20.2% worked 5 to 14 hours, 9.8% worked 15 to 29 hours and 7.4% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

For information on how migrant families are classified, see the User guide for QuickStats

These statistics are for families in Australia. They are for families where the reference person and/or their spouse or partner was born in China. Of these families, 48.9% were couple families with children, 36.5% were couple families without children and 13.3% were one parent families.

Note: Totals for families with a child under 5 and for families with a child aged 0-15 years does not include those families where the reference person and/or their spouse/partner did not state their country of birth.

Employment status of couple families

These statistics are for families in Australia. They are for families where the reference person and/or their spouse or partner was born in China. Of these families, 20.7% of families had both parents working full-time, 13.6% of families had one parent working full-time and one parent working part-time, and 22.6% of families stated that both parents were not working.

Dwelling structure

For information on how migrant households are classified, see the User guide for QuickStats

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

These statistics are for occupied private dwellings in Australia. For the dwellings that were occupied on census night by a person or persons who were born in China, 49.6% were a separate house, 34.1% were a flat or apartment, and 15.4% were a semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc.

These statistics are for occupied private dwellings in Australia. For the dwellings that were occupied on census night by a person or persons who were born in China, 25.5% had two bedrooms, 31.2% had three bedrooms and 33.0% had four or more bedrooms.

Mortgage & rent

These statistics are for occupied private dwellings in Australia. For the dwellings that were occupied on census night by a person or persons who were born in China, 21.7% were owned outright, 42.5% were owned with a mortgage and 33.0% were rented. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,000 and the median weekly rent paid was $420.

Median monthly mortgage repayment relates only to occupied private dwellings that are owned with a mortgage (including those being purchased under a rent/buy scheme). It excludes 'visitor only' and 'other non-classifiable' households and dwellings that did not state a monthly repayment value.

Median weekly rent paid relates to occupied private dwellings being rented (including rent-free accommodation). It excludes 'visitor only' and 'other non-classifiable' households and dwellings that did not state a weekly payment value.

View the data quality statements for: Tenure type (TEND) Rent weekly payments (RNTD) Mortgage monthly repayments (MRED)

Household composition

All occupants of a private dwelling complete one census form and are counted as a household. 'Born in China' includes households in Australia where at least one person was born in China. Of those households, 67.6% were one family households and 12.9% were lone person households.