61-594: English Australians , also known as Anglo-Australians , are Australians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England . In the 2021 census , 8,385,928 people, or 33% of the Australian population, stated that they had English ancestry (whether sole or partial). It is the largest self-identified ancestry in Australia. People of ethnic English origin have been the largest group to migrate to Australia since
122-595: A distinct people of Melanesian ancestry, indigenous to the Torres Strait Islands, which are at the northernmost tip of Queensland near Papua New Guinea , and some nearby settlements on the mainland. The term "Aboriginal" is traditionally applied to only the indigenous inhabitants of mainland Australia and Tasmania , along with some of the adjacent islands. Indigenous Australians is an inclusive term used when referring to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders (the "first peoples"). Dispersing across
183-458: A formal consultation process occurred on the online "ABS Consultation Hub", with the ABS receiving 450 submissions, 315 of which were published with consent. Since 2006, the ABS has allowed the census to be completed online, moving in 2016 to be digital-first. Like 2016, the 2021 Census was primarily collected online, with paper census forms being available on request for any household. In 2016, around
244-482: A proportion of the total population was as follows: 57.2% European (including 46% North-West European and 11.2% Southern and Eastern European ), 33.8% (including 29.9% Australian) Oceanian , 17.4% Asian (including 6.5% Southern and Central Asian , 6.4% North-East Asian , and 4.5% South-East Asian ), 3.2% North African and Middle Eastern , 1.4% Peoples of the Americas , and 1.3% Sub-Saharan African . At
305-403: A result of changes in the demographic makeup of immigrants and as there has been increased economic and cultural intercourse with Asian nations, Australia has observed the gradual emergence of a "Eurasian society" within its major urban hubs, blending both European and Asian material and popular culture within a distinctly Australian context. Other influences include Australian Aboriginal culture ,
366-497: A result of many shared linguistic, historical, cultural and geographic characteristics, Australians have often identified closely with New Zealanders in particular. Australian citizenship prior to 1949 was a social, moral, and political concept. Prior to the introduction of Australian citizenship , Australians had the status of " British subjects ". The High Court of Australia in Potter v Minahan (1908) stated that "Although there
427-617: A series of gold rushes in the 1850s and after the First and Second World Wars, with many post-World War II migrants coming from Southern Europe , Eastern Europe and The Middle East . Since the end of the White Australia policy in 1973, immigrants to Australia have come from around the world, and from Asia in particular. The predominance of the English language , the existence of a parliamentary system of government drawing upon
488-505: A sustainable population of around 750,000. 2021 Australian census The 2021 Australian census , simply called the 2021 Census , was the eighteenth national Census of Population and Housing in Australia. The 2021 Census took place on 10 August 2021, and was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). It had a response rate of 96.1%, up from the 95.1% at the 2016 census . The total population of
549-504: A third of all households requested and completed their census using the paper form. It was planned that in late October 2019, the ABS would publish a market opportunity to seek a commercial partner to build the 2021 Census Digital Service. The population counts for Australian states and territories were that New South Wales remains the most populous state, with 8,072,163 people counted, ahead of Victoria (6,503,491) and Queensland (5,156,138). The total population of Australian as counted in
610-501: Is home to a diversity of cultures , a result of its history of immigration . Since 1788, Australian culture has primarily been a Western culture strongly influenced by early Anglo-Celtic settlers. The cultural divergence and evolution that has occurred over the centuries since European settlement has resulted in a distinctive Australian culture. As the Asian Australian population continues to expand and flourish as
671-455: Is no Australian nationality as distinguished from British nationality, there is an Australian species of British nationality." The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not collect data on race , but asks each Australian resident to nominate up to two ancestries each census . These ancestry responses are classified into broad standardised ancestry groups. At the 2021 census, the number of ancestry responses within each standardised group as
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#1732775577083732-522: Is thought to be higher than the numbers captured in the census as those nominating their ancestry as "Australian" are classified within the Oceanian group, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry are Anglo-Celtic Australians . Since soon after the beginning of British settlement in 1788, people of European descent have formed
793-585: The de facto national language. Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon, and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling. General Australian serves as the standard dialect. At the 2021 census, English was the only language spoken in the home for 72% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Mandarin (2.7%), Arabic (1.4%), Vietnamese (1.3%), Cantonese (1.2%) and Punjabi (0.9%). Over 250 Indigenous Australian languages are thought to have existed at
854-563: The 2021 census , 8,385,928 people, or 33% of the Australian population, stated that they had English ancestry (whether wholly or partial). People of English descent were by far the single most influential ethnic group in colonial Australia. The founding of Australia by English people is still evident in place names, Australia's common law legal system, popular dishes such as fish and chips and Sunday Roast and English as Australia's national language. In Sydney, at least 50 suburban names are derived directly from 20 English counties , of which
915-507: The Australian Defence Force , and would not continue asking questions about home internet access considering the rise of mobile devices. This represented the first significant change to census topics since 2006. Alongside these two new topics, the 2021 Census continued to ask questions related to: Through late 2017, the ABS began discussions with major census data users on what was needed. From 3 April to 30 June 2018,
976-660: The Australian colonies . From the mid-19th century, Chinese dubbed Australia the New Gold Mountain after the Gold Mountain of California in North America. They typically sent money to their families in the villages, regularly visited their families, and retired to their home villages after many years working as market gardeners , shopkeepers or cabinet-makers . As with many overseas Chinese groups
1037-678: The Philippines , while many are descendants of such immigrants. The very early history of Chinese Australians involved significant immigration from villages of the Pearl River Delta in Southern China. More recent Chinese migrants include those from Mandarin and other Chinese dialects or forms. Less well-known are the kinds of society Chinese Australians came from, the families they left behind and what their intentions were in migrating. Gold rushes lured many Chinese to
1098-675: The Roman Catholic Church (20% of the population) and the Anglican Church of Australia (9.8%). Multicultural immigration since the Second World War has led to the growth of non-Christian religions, the largest of which are Islam (3.2%), Hinduism (2.7%), Buddhism (2.4%), Sikhism (0.8%), and Judaism (0.4%). In 2021, just under 8,000 people declared an affiliation with traditional Aboriginal religions. According to Australian Aboriginal mythology and
1159-472: The Second World War , the vast majority of settlers and immigrants came from the British Isles (principally England , Ireland , Wales and Scotland ), although there was significant immigration from China and Germany during the 19th century. Many early settlements were initially penal colonies to house transported convicts . Immigration increased steadily, with an explosion of population in
1220-459: The Westminster system , constitutional monarchy , American constitutionalist and federalist traditions, Christianity as the dominant religion, and the popularity of sports including cricket , rugby football and tennis are evidence of a significant Anglo-Celtic heritage derived from the descendants of early settlers who form an ancestral group known as Anglo-Celtic Australians . As
1281-577: The animist framework developed in Aboriginal Australia, the Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral totemic spirit beings formed The Creation . The Dreaming established the laws and structures of society and the ceremonies performed to ensure continuity of life and land. The current Australian resident population is estimated at 27,837,000 (28 November 2024). This does not include Australians living overseas . In 2015, 2.15% of
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#17327755770831342-406: The citizens , nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia . This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Australian. Australian law does not provide for a racial or ethnic component of nationality, instead relying on citizenship as a legal status, though
1403-495: The 1850s following a series of gold rushes . In the decades immediately following the Second World War, Australia received a large wave of immigration from across Europe , with many more immigrants arriving from Southern and Eastern Europe than in previous decades. Since the late 1970s, following the end of the White Australia policy in 1973, a large and continuing wave of immigration to Australia from around
1464-652: The 1870s, when there were more English. At least 75 per cent of all overseas-born people in Australia during the 19th century were from the British Isles . The proportion who had been born in England or Wales remained quite stable (at about 47 per cent) from 1861 to 1911, as did the proportion born in Scotland (about 12 per cent). English settlers more often came from the South than the North of England . 2021 Australians of English ancestry made up more than 50 per cent of
1525-481: The 2016 census. Australia has no official religion; its Constitution prohibits the Commonwealth government, but not the states, from establishing one, or interfering with the freedom of religion . At the 2021 Census, 38.9% of the population identified as having "no religion" , up from 15.5% in 2001. The largest religion is Christianity (43.9% of the population). The largest Christian denominations are
1586-528: The 2021 Census. Germans formed the largest non-English-speaking group in Australia up to the 20th century. Although a few individuals had emigrated earlier, the first large group of Germans arrived in South Australia 1838, not long after the British colonisation of South Australia . Asian Australians are Australians with ancestry wholly or partially from the continent of Asia. At the 2021 census,
1647-541: The 2021 census finding 4.4% of the population claiming ancestry from Italy be they migrants to Australia or their descendants born in Australia of Italian heritage. Australia's long-history of Italian immigration has given rise to an Italo-Australian dialect of the Italian language. German Australians are Australians of German ancestry . The German community constitutes the second largest non-Anglo Celtic European ethnic group in Australia, amounting to 4% of respondents in
1708-516: The 2021 census, 3.2% of the Australian population identified as being Indigenous — Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders . Indigenous Australians experience higher than average rates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower levels of education, and life expectancies for males and females that are, respectively, 11 and 17 years lower than those of non-indigenous Australians. Some remote Indigenous communities have been described as having " failed state "-like conditions. In 2019, 30% of
1769-598: The 2021 census, the most commonly nominated individual ancestries as a proportion of the total population were: European Australians are Australians of whose descent is wholly or partially European. Australians of European descent are the majority in Australia, with the number of ancestry responses categorised within the European groups as a proportion of the total population amounting to 57.2% (including 46% North-West European and 11.2% Southern and Eastern European ). The proportion of Australians with European ancestry
1830-468: The 20th century's hostile policies to the new generation of skilled professional migrants of the 21st century... India became the largest source of skilled migrants in the 21st century." Indigenous Australians are descendants of the original inhabitants of the Australian continent . Their ancestors are believed to have migrated from Africa to Asia around 70,000 years ago and arrived in Australia around 50,000 years ago. The Torres Strait Islanders are
1891-553: The ABS makes a recommendation to the Australian Government on the topics to be included, based on the benefit that data would provide to Australia. Through the Census and Statistics Amendment (Statistical Information) Regulations 2020 , the federal parliament approves topics that may be included. For the 2021 census, the ABS had been authorised to include questions relating to long-term health conditions and service in
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1952-410: The Australian continent over time, the population expanded and differentiated into hundreds of distinct groups, each with its own language and culture. More than 400 distinct Australian Aboriginal peoples have been identified across the continent, distinguished by unique names designating their ancestral languages, dialects, or distinctive speech patterns. In 1770, fearing he had been pre-empted by
2013-691: The Australian population lived overseas, one of the lowest proportions worldwide. This ratio is much lower than many other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member developed countries ). The data in the table is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics . The population estimates do not include the Aboriginal population before 1961. Estimates of Aboriginal population prior to European settlement range from 300,000 to one million, with archaeological finds indicating
2074-510: The Australian resident population, or 7,529,570 people, were born overseas. The following table shows Australia's population by country of birth as estimated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2021. It shows only countries or regions or birth with a population of over 100,000 residing in Australia (for more information about immigration see Immigration to Australia and Foreign-born population of Australia ): Although Australia has no official language, English has always been entrenched as
2135-480: The Commonwealth of Australia was counted as 25,422,788, an increase of 8.6 per cent or 2,020,896 people over the previous 2016 census. Results from the 2021 census were released to the public on 28 June 2022 from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website . A small amount of additional 2021 census data was released in October 2022 and in 2023. Australia's next census is scheduled to take place in 2026. The census
2196-485: The Constitutional framers considered the Commonwealth to be "a home for Australians and the British race alone", as well as a "Christian Commonwealth". Since the postwar period, Australia has pursued an official policy of multiculturalism and has the world's eighth-largest immigrant population, with immigrants accounting for 30 percent of the population in 2019. Between European colonisation in 1788 and
2257-514: The French, James Cook changed a hilltop signal-drill on Possession Island in Torres Strait , into a possession ceremony, fabricating Britain's claim of Australia's east coast. Eighteen years later, the east coast was occupied by Britain and later the west coast was also settled by Britain. At that time, the indigenous population was estimated to have been between 315,000 and 750,000. At
2318-583: The NAA will release that data to the public in a Census Time Capsule. Censuses stored by the NAA cannot by accessed, amended, or retrieved by anyone, including courts and tribunal, until their release, the first of which will occur in 2100. The 2020 Census Test occurred on 27 October 2020 with around 100,000 households from Sydney , Adelaide , Darwin , and Canberra , as well as communities in Karratha , Warrnambool , and Alice Springs Town Camps . Every census,
2379-530: The establishment of the Colony of New South Wales in 1788. English Australians are a subset of Anglo-Celtic Australians , who are themselves a subset of European Australians . Other subsets of Anglo-Celtic Australians (that is, Australians with ancestry originating in the British Isles ) include Irish Australians , Scottish Australians and Welsh Australians . There is a tendency to refer to these ancestries collectively due to their long history in Australia and
2440-643: The first Australian settlers came from London, the Midlands and the North of England , and Ireland. Settlers that arrived throughout the 19th century were from all parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland, a significant proportion of settlers came from the Southwest and Southeast of England, from Ireland and from Scotland. In 1888, 60 percent of the Australian population had been born in Australia, and almost all had British ancestral origins. Out of
2501-554: The free settlers who immigrated were British in origin. Many more English people immigrated to Victoria by the gold rush of the 1850s. By 1854 there were 97,943 English-born people in Victoria. Immigration policies and assistance schemes helped maintain high levels of immigration from England. Of the 1 million immigrants who arrived between 1860 and 1900, just over half came from England. Between 1840 and 1870 there were more Irish than English assisted migrants which did not change until
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2562-528: The high degree of intermixture which has occurred over centuries. In light of this history, there is a tendency for Australians with English or other Anglo-Celtic ancestries to simply identify their ancestry as ' Australian '. New South Wales was established in 1788 by the British government as a penal colony. Visitors described the English character of Sydney for at least the first 50 years after 1788, noting
2623-511: The largest immigrant groups during the post-war era. During the 1950s, Australia was the destination of 30 per cent of Dutch emigrants and the Netherlands-born became numerically the second largest non-British group in Australia. In 1971, 70 percent of the foreign born were of European origin. Italian Australians are Australians of Italian ancestry, and comprise the largest non Anglo-Celtic European ethnic group in Australia, with
2684-448: The largest non-British Isles ancestry for most of the 19th century. Between 1901 and 1940, 140,000 non-British European immigrants arrived in Australia (about 16 percent of the total intake). Before World War II, 13.6 percent were born overseas, and 80 percent of those were British. Following the Second World War , large numbers of continental Europeans immigrated to Australia, with Italian Australians and Greek Australians being among
2745-509: The largest numbers are from Kent , Surrey and London . Among the best known are Surry Hills , Croydon , Hornsby , Epping , Chipping Norton , Brighton-le-Sands , Bexley , Canterbury , Ryde , Kensington , Lewisham and Penshurst . The majority of Prime Ministers of Australia have been of at least partial English ancestry. To date all Australian Prime Ministers have had whole or partial Anglo-Celtic ancestry. Australians Australians , colloquially known as Aussies , are
2806-417: The majority of the population in Australia. The largest statistical grouping of European Australians are Anglo-Celtic Australians , Australians whose ancestors originate wholly or partially in the British Isles . This includes English Australians , Irish Australians , Scottish Australians and Welsh Australians . Anglo-Celtic Australians have been highly influential in shaping the nation's character. By
2867-427: The mid-1840s, the numbers of freeborn settlers had overtaken the convict population. Although some observers stress Australia's convict history, the vast majority of early settlers came of their own free will. Far more Australians are descended from assisted immigrants than from convicts, the majority of Colonial Era settlers being British and Irish. About 20 percent of Australians are descendants of convicts. Most of
2928-559: The number of ancestry responses categorised within the Asian groups as a proportion of the total population amounted to 17.4% (including 6.5% Southern and Central Asian , 6.4% North-East Asian , and 4.5% South-East Asian ). This figure excludes Australians of Middle Eastern ancestry, who are separately categorised within the North African and Middle Eastern group. Chinese Australians are Australians of Chinese ancestry, forming
2989-525: The population at the time of Federation (1901). From 1922 the Empire Settlement Act assisted thousands of migrants from England. After the Second World War, even as immigration from other countries expanded dramatically, English citizens had almost unrestricted entry into Australia. Arthur Calwell, Minister for Immigration, wanted nine out of ten new immigrants to be UK-born. The majority of England-born migrants received assisted passages until
3050-517: The population. English ancestry was reported by 6.6 million people (46%) in 1986, and 6.4 million (37%) in 2001. While the English-born continue to be well-represented among immigrants to Australia, the overall decline of English immigration to Australia since the 1980s has meant that the English-born are declining as a proportion of immigrants to Australia. Regardless, Australian society continues to be influenced by its strong English heritage. In
3111-497: The provision of services. An independent report from Lateral Economics found that for every $ 1 of investment on the census, $ 6 of benefits are created in the Australian economy. Since the 2001 Census, all households have the option of allowing their census data, including personal information such as names and addresses, to be stored by the National Archives of Australia (NAA) for 99 years. 99 years after Census Night,
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#17327755770833172-424: The remaining 40 percent, 34 percent had been born in the British Isles , and 6 percent were of European origin, mainly from Germany and Scandinavia . The census of 1901 showed that 98 percent of Australians had Anglo-Celtic ancestral origins. In 1939 and 1945, still 98 percent of Australians had Anglo-Celtic ancestral origins. Until 1947, the vast majority of the population were of British origin. Germans formed
3233-448: The scheme was abolished in 1982. Among the notable English-born were politicians such as Henry Parkes , and Joseph Cook ; in retailing and media: John Norton , Anthony Hordern and John Fairfax . Surges of English immigration in the 1910s, 1920s, 1950s and 1960s sustained the English-born as the largest single immigrant group throughout the 20th century. In 1978 Australians of predominantly English ancestry made up over 45 per cent of
3294-562: The second-largest Asian Australian ancestry, comprising 3.1% of the total population. Indian Australians are one of the largest groups within the Indian diaspora. Indians are the youngest average age (34 years) and the fastest growing community both in terms of absolute numbers and percentages in Australia. Migration of Indians to Australia followed the pattern of "from 18th-century sepoys and lascars (soldiers and sailors) aboard visiting European ships, through 19th-century migrant labourers and
3355-621: The single largest non Anglo-Celtic ancestry in the country, constituting 5.5% of those nominating their ancestry at the 2021 census. Chinese Australians are one of the largest groups of Overseas Chinese people, forming the largest Overseas Chinese community in Oceania , and are the largest Asian-Australian community. Per capita , Australia has more people of Chinese ancestry than any country outside Asia. Many Chinese Australians have immigrated from Mainland China, Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan as well as Indonesia , Malaysia , Singapore and
3416-552: The time of first European contact, of which fewer than twenty are still in daily use by all age groups. About 110 others are spoken exclusively by older people. At the time of the 2006 census, 52,000 Indigenous Australians, representing 12% of the Indigenous population, reported that they spoke an Indigenous language at home. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan , which is the main language of about 10,112 deaf people who reported that they use Auslan language at home in
3477-679: The traditional English appearance of the churches overlooking the convict barracks. First-generation colonial Sydney residents were predominantly English. 160,000 convicts came to Australia between 1788 and 1850. Between 1788 and 1840, 80,000 English convicts were transported to New South Wales, with the greatest numbers coming between 1825 and 1835. The New South Wales Census of 1846 accounted for 57,349 born in England, 47,547 born in Ireland and 14,406 born in Scotland. Until 1859, 2.2 million (73%) of
3538-592: The traditions brought to the country by waves of immigration from around the world, and the culture of the United States . The Colony of New South Wales was established by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1788, with the arrival of the First Fleet , and five other colonies were established in the 19th century, now forming the six present-day Australian states . Large-scale immigration occurred following
3599-407: The world has continued into the 21st century, with Asia now being the largest source of immigrants. A smaller proportion of Australians are descended from indigenous people , comprising Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders . The development of a distinctive Australian identity and national character began in the 19th century. The primary language is Australian English . Australia
3660-436: The world over, early Chinese immigrants to Australia established several Chinatowns in major cities, such as Sydney ( Chinatown, Sydney ), Melbourne ( Chinatown, Melbourne , since the 1850s) and Brisbane ( Chinatown, Brisbane ), Perth ( Chinatown, Perth ), as well as in regional towns associated with the goldfields such as Cairns ( Cairns Chinatown ). Indian Australians are Australians of Indian ancestry, and are
3721-523: Was undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic . It therefore provided a clear snapshot of how the pandemic impacted Australian society. In Australia, completing the census is compulsory for all people in Australia on census night, only excluding foreign diplomats and their families. Census data is used to "help governments, businesses, not-for-profit and community organisations across the country make informed decisions", including helping governments to plan
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