11 things you may not know about Australians born overseas

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Released

24/04/2024

Source

Australia's Population by Country of Birth, Jun 2023

Australia’s population included 8.2 million people who were born overseas as of June 2023. This was an increase of 494,000 from one year earlier.
The percentage of people born overseas increased to 30.7% in 2023. This is the first time the percentage has exceeded 30% since 1893 and comes as international travel rebounds following COVID-19 safety measures being lifted.
The lowest proportion of overseas-born Australians since records began was 10% in 1947 with major global events like World War I, the Great Depression and World War II affecting migration.
England, India, China and New Zealand were the most common countries of birth within the overseas-born population in June 2023. Together, they made up over one third of Australians born overseas.
Australians born in England (962,000) were still the largest group born overseas. However, this population has steadily fallen from a peak of just over one million in 2013. Those born in India (846,000) were the second largest group born overseas.
India was the country of birth with the largest population increase (other than Australia) in Australia's population over the past decade, increasing by 467,000 people since 2013.
The median age of people born overseas decreased from 45 years in 2021 to 43 years in 2023. This change occurred due to the re-opening of international borders and associated increase in younger people (such as international students) migrating to Australia.
The country of birth with the highest median age was Latvia at 80 years. Qatar had the lowest median age at 15 years.
The age group with the highest proportion of people born overseas was 35 to 39 year olds with 43% born overseas. This contrasts 0 to 4 year olds, with only 3% born overseas.
Western Australia had the highest percentage of people born overseas (34%) in June 2021, but it was the only state or territory to record a drop since 2016, down from 35%. Tasmania had the lowest proportion in 2021 with 16%, however it had the largest increase from the previous five years, up from 13% in 2016.
Globally, in 2020 Australia was ranked ninth by number of people in national populations who were born overseas, with 7.7 million. In that year, the United Nations estimated 280.6 million people worldwide resided outside their country of birth – 3.6% of the global population.

Estimated resident population – proportion born overseas(a)(b)
Year	Proportion of overseas-born (%)	Number of Australian-born (M)	Number of overseas-born (M)
1891	32.4	1.80	0.86
1892	31.3	1.89	0.86
1893	30.2	1.98	0.86
1894	29.1	2.08	0.86
1895	28.1	2.18	0.86
1896	27.1	2.29	0.86
1897	26.2	2.40	0.86
1898	25.2	2.52	0.86
1899	24.3	2.65	0.86
1900	23.5	2.78	0.86
1901	22.7	2.92	0.86
1902	22.0	2.99	0.85
1903	21.4	3.06	0.84
1904	20.8	3.13	0.83
1905	20.2	3.21	0.82
1906	19.6	3.28	0.81
1907	19.1	3.36	0.80
1908	18.6	3.44	0.79
1909	18.0	3.53	0.78
1910	17.5	3.61	0.77
1911	17.0	3.70	0.76
1912	16.9	3.78	0.77
1913	16.7	3.86	0.77
1914	16.5	3.95	0.78
1915	16.4	4.03	0.79
1916	16.2	4.12	0.80
1917	16.0	4.21	0.81
1918	15.9	4.31	0.81
1919	15.7	4.40	0.82
1920	15.6	4.50	0.83
1921	15.4	4.60	0.84
1922	15.3	4.68	0.84
1923	15.1	4.77	0.85
1924	15.0	4.86	0.85
1925	14.8	4.95	0.86
1926	14.6	5.04	0.87
1927	14.5	5.13	0.87
1928	14.3	5.23	0.88
1929	14.2	5.32	0.88
1930	14.1	5.42	0.89
1931	13.9	5.52	0.89
1932	13.8	5.62	0.90
1933	13.6	5.73	0.90
1934	13.3	5.80	0.89
1935	13.0	5.87	0.88
1936	12.7	5.95	0.87
1937	12.4	6.02	0.85
1938	12.1	6.10	0.84
1939	11.8	6.18	0.83
1940	11.6	6.26	0.82
1941	11.3	6.34	0.81
1942	11.0	6.42	0.80
1943	10.8	6.50	0.79
1944	10.5	6.58	0.78
1945	10.3	6.66	0.77
1946	10.1	6.75	0.75
1947	9.8	6.84	0.74
1948	10.4	6.95	0.80
1949	10.9	7.07	0.87
1950	11.5	7.19	0.94
1951	12.2	7.32	1.02
1952	12.9	7.44	1.10
1953	13.6	7.57	1.19
1954	14.3	7.70	1.29
1955	14.7	7.84	1.35
1956	15.0	7.98	1.41
1957	15.4	8.13	1.48
1958	15.8	8.27	1.55
1959	16.1	8.42	1.62
1960	16.5	8.57	1.70
1961	16.9	8.73	1.78
1962	17.2	8.86	1.84
1963	17.5	9.00	1.91
1964	17.8	9.14	1.98
1965	18.1	9.28	2.06
1966	18.4	9.42	2.13
1967	18.8	9.57	2.21
1968	19.1	9.72	2.30
1969	19.5	9.87	2.39
1970	19.9	10.02	2.48
1971	20.2	10.18	2.58
1972	20.2	10.30	2.60
1973	20.1	10.43	2.62
1974	20.0	10.56	2.64
1975	20.0	10.69	2.67
1976	19.9	10.83	2.69
1977	20.0	10.96	2.75
1978	20.2	11.10	2.80
1979	20.3	11.24	2.86
1980	20.4	11.39	2.93
1981	20.6	11.53	2.99
1982	20.7	11.74	3.06
1983	20.8	11.96	3.14
1984	20.9	12.17	3.23
1985	21.1	12.40	3.31
1986	21.2	12.62	3.39
1987	21.5	12.76	3.50
1988	22.0	12.90	3.63
1989	22.4	13.04	3.77
1990	22.8	13.18	3.89
1991	22.9	13.32	3.97
1992	23.1	13.45	4.03
1993	23.0	13.58	4.05
1994	23.0	13.72	4.09
1995	23.1	13.85	4.15
1996	23.3	13.98	4.24
1997	23.3	14.13	4.29
1998	23.2	14.30	4.31
1999	23.1	14.47	4.35
2000	23.0	14.64	4.39
2001	23.1	14.82	4.45
2002	23.3	14.94	4.55
2003	23.6	15.07	4.66
2004	23.8	15.18	4.75
2005	24.2	15.30	4.88
2006	24.6	15.42	5.03
2007	25.1	15.59	5.23
2008	25.8	15.77	5.48
2009	26.4	15.96	5.73
2010	26.7	16.15	5.88
2011	26.9	16.32	6.02
2012	27.3	16.52	6.21
2013	27.7	16.72	6.41
2014	28.0	16.91	6.57
2015	28.3	17.09	6.73
2016	28.6	17.28	6.91
2017	29.0	17.45	7.14
2018	29.4	17.62	7.35
2019	29.8	17.79	7.55
2020	29.9	17.98	7.67
2021	29.3	18.16	7.53
2022	29.5	18.33	7.68
2023	30.7	18.47	8.18

Estimated resident population – proportion born overseas(a)(b)

["Year","Proportion of overseas-born","Number of Australian-born","Number of overseas-born"]

[["1891","1892","1893","1894","1895","1896","1897","1898","1899","1900","1901","1902","1903","1904","1905","1906","1907","1908","1909","1910","1911","1912","1913","1914","1915","1916","1917","1918","1919","1920","1921","1922","1923","1924","1925","1926","1927","1928","1929","1930","1931","1932","1933","1934","1935","1936","1937","1938","1939","1940","1941","1942","1943","1944","1945","1946","1947","1948","1949","1950","1951","1952","1953","1954","1955","1956","1957","1958","1959","1960","1961","1962","1963","1964","1965","1966","1967","1968","1969","1970","1971","1972","1973","1974","1975","1976","1977","1978","1979","1980","1981","1982","1983","1984","1985","1986","1987","1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023"],[[32.399999999999999],[31.300000000000001],[30.199999999999999],[29.100000000000001],[28.100000000000001],[27.100000000000001],[26.199999999999999],[25.199999999999999],[24.300000000000001],[23.5],[22.699999999999999],[22],[21.399999999999999],[20.800000000000001],[20.199999999999999],[19.600000000000001],[19.100000000000001],[18.600000000000001],[18],[17.5],[17],[16.899999999999999],[16.699999999999999],[16.5],[16.399999999999999],[16.199999999999999],[16],[15.9],[15.699999999999999],[15.6],[15.4],[15.300000000000001],[15.1],[15],[14.800000000000001],[14.6],[14.5],[14.300000000000001],[14.199999999999999],[14.1],[13.9],[13.800000000000001],[13.6],[13.300000000000001],[13],[12.699999999999999],[12.4],[12.1],[11.800000000000001],[11.6],[11.300000000000001],[11],[10.800000000000001],[10.5],[10.300000000000001],[10.1],[9.8000000000000007],[10.4],[10.9],[11.5],[12.199999999999999],[12.9],[13.6],[14.300000000000001],[14.699999999999999],[15],[15.4],[15.800000000000001],[16.100000000000001],[16.5],[16.899999999999999],[17.199999999999999],[17.5],[17.800000000000001],[18.100000000000001],[18.399999999999999],[18.800000000000001],[19.100000000000001],[19.5],[19.899999999999999],[20.199999999999999],[20.199999999999999],[20.100000000000001],[20],[20],[19.899999999999999],[20],[20.199999999999999],[20.300000000000001],[20.399999999999999],[20.600000000000001],[20.699999999999999],[20.800000000000001],[20.899999999999999],[21.100000000000001],[21.199999999999999],[21.5],[22],[22.399999999999999],[22.800000000000001],[22.899999999999999],[23.100000000000001],[23],[23],[23.100000000000001],[23.300000000000001],[23.300000000000001],[23.199999999999999],[23.100000000000001],[23],[23.100000000000001],[23.300000000000001],[23.600000000000001],[23.800000000000001],[24.199999999999999],[24.600000000000001],[25.100000000000001],[25.800000000000001],[26.399999999999999],[26.699999999999999],[26.899999999999999],[27.300000000000001],[27.699999999999999],[28],[28.300000000000001],[28.600000000000001],[29],[29.399999999999999],[29.800000000000001],[29.899999999999999],[29.300000000000001],[29.5],[30.699999999999999]],[[1.8],[1.8899999999999999],[1.98],[2.0800000000000001],[2.1800000000000002],[2.29],[2.3999999999999999],[2.52],[2.6499999999999999],[2.7799999999999998],[2.9199999999999999],[2.9900000000000002],[3.0600000000000001],[3.1299999999999999],[3.21],[3.2799999999999998],[3.3599999999999999],[3.4399999999999999],[3.5299999999999998],[3.6099999999999999],[3.7000000000000002],[3.7799999999999998],[3.8599999999999999],[3.9500000000000002],[4.0300000000000002],[4.1200000000000001],[4.21],[4.3099999999999996],[4.4000000000000004],[4.5],[4.5999999999999996],[4.6799999999999997],[4.7699999999999996],[4.8600000000000003],[4.9500000000000002],[5.04],[5.1299999999999999],[5.2300000000000004],[5.3200000000000003],[5.4199999999999999],[5.5199999999999996],[5.6200000000000001],[5.7300000000000004],[5.7999999999999998],[5.8700000000000001],[5.9500000000000002],[6.0199999999999996],[6.0999999999999996],[6.1799999999999997],[6.2599999999999998],[6.3399999999999999],[6.4199999999999999],[6.5],[6.5800000000000001],[6.6600000000000001],[6.75],[6.8399999999999999],[6.9500000000000002],[7.0700000000000003],[7.1900000000000004],[7.3200000000000003],[7.4400000000000004],[7.5700000000000003],[7.7000000000000002],[7.8399999999999999],[7.9800000000000004],[8.1300000000000008],[8.2699999999999996],[8.4199999999999999],[8.5700000000000003],[8.7300000000000004],[8.8599999999999994],[9],[9.1400000000000006],[9.2799999999999994],[9.4199999999999999],[9.5700000000000003],[9.7200000000000006],[9.8699999999999992],[10.02],[10.18],[10.300000000000001],[10.43],[10.56],[10.69],[10.83],[10.960000000000001],[11.1],[11.24],[11.390000000000001],[11.529999999999999],[11.74],[11.960000000000001],[12.17],[12.4],[12.619999999999999],[12.76],[12.9],[13.039999999999999],[13.18],[13.32],[13.449999999999999],[13.58],[13.720000000000001],[13.85],[13.98],[14.130000000000001],[14.300000000000001],[14.470000000000001],[14.640000000000001],[14.82],[14.94],[15.07],[15.18],[15.300000000000001],[15.42],[15.59],[15.77],[15.960000000000001],[16.149999999999999],[16.32],[16.52],[16.719999999999999],[16.91],[17.09],[17.280000000000001],[17.449999999999999],[17.620000000000001],[17.789999999999999],[17.98],[18.16],[18.329999999999998],[18.469999999999999]],[[0.85999999999999999],[0.85999999999999999],[0.85999999999999999],[0.85999999999999999],[0.85999999999999999],[0.85999999999999999],[0.85999999999999999],[0.85999999999999999],[0.85999999999999999],[0.85999999999999999],[0.85999999999999999],[0.84999999999999998],[0.83999999999999997],[0.82999999999999996],[0.81999999999999995],[0.81000000000000005],[0.80000000000000004],[0.79000000000000004],[0.78000000000000003],[0.77000000000000002],[0.76000000000000001],[0.77000000000000002],[0.77000000000000002],[0.78000000000000003],[0.79000000000000004],[0.80000000000000004],[0.81000000000000005],[0.81000000000000005],[0.81999999999999995],[0.82999999999999996],[0.83999999999999997],[0.83999999999999997],[0.84999999999999998],[0.84999999999999998],[0.85999999999999999],[0.87],[0.87],[0.88],[0.88],[0.89000000000000001],[0.89000000000000001],[0.90000000000000002],[0.90000000000000002],[0.89000000000000001],[0.88],[0.87],[0.84999999999999998],[0.83999999999999997],[0.82999999999999996],[0.81999999999999995],[0.81000000000000005],[0.80000000000000004],[0.79000000000000004],[0.78000000000000003],[0.77000000000000002],[0.75],[0.73999999999999999],[0.80000000000000004],[0.87],[0.93999999999999995],[1.02],[1.1000000000000001],[1.1899999999999999],[1.29],[1.3500000000000001],[1.4099999999999999],[1.48],[1.55],[1.6200000000000001],[1.7],[1.78],[1.8400000000000001],[1.9099999999999999],[1.98],[2.0600000000000001],[2.1299999999999999],[2.21],[2.2999999999999998],[2.3900000000000001],[2.48],[2.5800000000000001],[2.6000000000000001],[2.6200000000000001],[2.6400000000000001],[2.6699999999999999],[2.6899999999999999],[2.75],[2.7999999999999998],[2.8599999999999999],[2.9300000000000002],[2.9900000000000002],[3.0600000000000001],[3.1400000000000001],[3.23],[3.3100000000000001],[3.3900000000000001],[3.5],[3.6299999999999999],[3.77],[3.8900000000000001],[3.9700000000000002],[4.0300000000000002],[4.0499999999999998],[4.0899999999999999],[4.1500000000000004],[4.2400000000000002],[4.29],[4.3099999999999996],[4.3499999999999996],[4.3899999999999997],[4.4500000000000002],[4.5499999999999998],[4.6600000000000001],[4.75],[4.8799999999999999],[5.0300000000000002],[5.2300000000000004],[5.4800000000000004],[5.7300000000000004],[5.8799999999999999],[6.0199999999999996],[6.21],[6.4100000000000001],[6.5700000000000003],[6.7300000000000004],[6.9100000000000001],[7.1399999999999997],[7.3499999999999996],[7.5499999999999998],[7.6699999999999999],[7.5300000000000002],[7.6799999999999997],[8.1799999999999997]]]

[]

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Based on estimated resident population at 30 June each year. Prior to 1986 based on census years.
Population estimates for 2023 are preliminary. See Revision status in the methodology page.
Source prior to 1986: Historical population publication - country of birth data cube.

For more information, go to Australia’s Population by Country of Birth, Jun 2023.

Media notes

All data is at 30 June 2023 unless otherwise stated.
Median age refers to the age at which half the population is older and half is younger.
Australia’s population by country of birth is available at the state and territory level for census years only.
When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au (8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri).
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11 things you may not know about Australians born overseas

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