Asian Immigrants Outnumber Europeans for the First Time

It has been a direction the country has been intentionally steering towards for decades, however now it seems Australia can truly call itself an ‘Asian Nation’.

The 2016 census figures reveal that China, India and the Philippines now account for more foreign-born residents than the traditional birthplaces of England, New Zealand and Europe.

The census reports that more than a quarter of Australians – 26.3 per cent, up from 24.6 per cent in 2011 – were born overseas in 2016, and even second-generation Aussies will soon be the minority.

Nearly half of Australian residents had at least one parent who hailed from a different country.

In the five-year gap between 2011 and 2016, an additional 1.3 million new migrants – mostly from China and India – called Australia home. As a whole, Australia experienced an 8.8 per cent population increase since 2011.

Migrants now make up 28 per cent of the populations of New South Wales and Victoria, and 32 per cent of the population in Western Australia.

Tasmania is the least migrant-populated state, at 12 per cent, and recorded the highest English-speaking only population of 88 per cent.

There’s also been an increase in the number of Australians shying away from religion.

Up from 22 per cent in 2011, 30 per cent of the population identified as having ‘no religion’ in 2016.

But, while Australians are turning away from Christian religions (Catholic and Anglican being two of the biggest), there’s been a massive leap in other religions since the 90s.

Hinduism has undergone a 533 per cent increase since 1991, Buddhism has leapt 200 per cent, and Islam has increased by 160 per cent.

Despite Australia becoming more culturally diverse, the ‘typical’ Aussie still remains much the same as five years ago.

They are female, 38 years-old, married with two kids and a mortgage, earn around $662 a week, English and of Australian descent.

The average age is up from 37 years-old in 2011 as Australia’s population continues to age.

The number of over 65s increased by nearly 665,000 people in 2016, but the average age of Asian immigrants is typically much younger, helping to steady the rise.

Last year’s census was the first that gave Australians the option to complete it online, and despite the ABS website’s notorious crash, 63 per cent of the population opted for the paperless version.