Australia is home to many nationalities due to a long history of migration, especially large-scale immigration programs after World War II, attracting people seeking economic opportunities, a better quality of life, and refuge, with policies evolving from European focus to embracing skilled migrants and humanitarian arrivals from Asia, the Middle East, and beyond, creating a rich, multicultural society with over 300 ancestries.
Successive waves of migration have shaped and influenced the development of a rich multicultural society. Australia is a majority migrant nation and one of the most successful and cohesive multicultural societies in the world, building on over 60,000 years of First Nations culture.
Stopping immigration in Australia would cause severe negative economic impacts, including significant labor and skills shortages (especially in healthcare, aged care, and trades), slower economic growth, reduced government revenue, a rapidly aging population, and negative effects on sectors like education and tourism, ultimately worsening public service pressures and potentially increasing housing costs despite initial theories otherwise. While some hoped for housing relief, most analysis suggests it would hurt the overall economy and budget.
Australians now come from nearly 200 countries, and represent more than 300 ethnic ancestries. One in four people in Australia (26%) were born overseas, a one percentage point rise from the figure recorded in our 2011 Census.
About 85–90% of the population identifies as ethnically white (meaning of European ancestry), but this is actually a compilation of several ethnic categories. Around 25% identify as white Australian, while 26% identify as English, and the rest are a mixture of various European ethnicities ranging from Dutch to Greek.
The proportion of Australia's population born outside Australia was 31.5%. England, India, China and New Zealand were the countries of birth with the largest populations. Those born in India recorded the largest increase since 2014.
Close ties with England and New Zealand remain
England still holds the largest proportion of overseas born population despite having fallen from a share of 32.7 per cent in 1971 to 12.9 per cent in 2021. The actual number of people born in England has increased by 77,614 people since 1971.
A significant portion of Australians, around 40-45% (over 9 million people), have less than $1,000 in savings, highlighting widespread financial vulnerability due to high living costs, with many living paycheck-to-paycheck and facing major stress from unexpected expenses. This contrasts with median savings figures, where some reports show Australians having tens of thousands saved, though these averages are skewed by "super savers" and exclude superannuation.
No, Australia is not 90% white; while a large majority identify with European ancestry (around 76-80% in recent years), a significant and growing portion identifies as Asian, African, Middle Eastern, or Indigenous, making it a highly multicultural nation with diverse ethnic backgrounds, not overwhelmingly white. Recent census data shows European ancestry (English, Irish, etc.) makes up a large chunk, but Asian ancestries are also substantial, with over 17% Asian population and around 3.8% identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, per the 2021 census data from Wikipedia.
The top countries migrating to Australia consistently include India, China, and the Philippines, often followed by nations like the United Kingdom, Nepal, and New Zealand, with India frequently leading in recent skilled migration streams and overall population increase, while the UK historically contributes significantly to the total foreign-born population. Recent trends show strong growth from India, China, Philippines, and Nepal in skilled visas and population influx.
While England historically provided the largest immigrant group, India is now the top country of birth for recent migrants and is rapidly becoming the largest single overseas-born group in Australia, followed by China, New Zealand, and the Philippines, reflecting a significant shift in migration origins toward Asia and recent booms in migration numbers overall.
“While most respondents said they would prefer less migration to Australia overall, they showed strong support for more skilled migrants,” Leng said. “Most respondents do not support a reduction in international student visa numbers.
Our isolation means that it is much easier to control who comes into our country. This makes it much harder for refugees to seek asylum in Australia, but also means that refugees coming by boat can be seen as a threat by ordinary Australians. This sense of threat and fear has been stoked by politicians on both sides.
Tasmania is the least multicultural state in Australia, but it is hoped better community integration will help keep new migrant families on the island.
In 1973 the Whitlam Labor government definitively renounced the White Australia policy. In its place it established a policy of multiculturalism in a nation that is now home to migrants from nearly 200 different countries.
The Census shows that Australia has a higher proportion of overseas-born people (26%) than the United States (14%), Canada (22%), New Zealand (23%) and the United Kingdom (13%). This makes Australia a hugely diverse nation. Dig a generation deeper and our diversity becomes even richer.
If you are a "White Australian," your nationality is Australian, but your ethnicity likely stems from various European ancestries, primarily British (English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh) or other European groups (German, Greek, Italian, etc.), as "White Australian" describes a broad demographic group rather than a single ethnicity, with most tracing roots to the British Isles or broader Europe.
More than 80% of our plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs are unique to Australia and are found nowhere else in the world. Some of our Australian animals are very well known like kangaroos, dingos, wallabies and wombats and of course the koala, platypus and echidna.
Ladies in Black is a 2018 Australian comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford.
Put aside just $13.70 per day, and at the end of the year you'll have $5,000; double that to $27.39 daily and you'll have $10,000 by year-end—and that doesn't include the interest you may earn. You can save money by making a budget, automating savings, reducing discretionary spending and seeking discounts.
Yes, $600,000 can be enough to retire at 60 in Australia for many, especially if you're a single person aiming for a comfortable lifestyle, but it depends heavily on your spending, assets, and eligibility for the Age Pension. While some sources suggest $600k covers a single's comfortable retirement (around $52k-$53k/year), it's near the lower end, and couples might need closer to $700k for a similar standard, making financial planning crucial for a stress-free retirement.
Turning $1,000 into $10,000 in one month requires high-risk, high-reward strategies, often involving aggressive business ventures like high-volume flipping (e.g., window washing, retail arbitrage) or online businesses (dropshipping, e-commerce) where you reinvest profits quickly, or trading volatile assets like crypto, but success isn't guaranteed and carries significant risk, so consider diversifying into safer options like starting a service business (lawn mowing) or freelancing high-demand skills.
At the 2021 census, the most commonly nominated Anglo-Celtic ancestries were: English Australian: 8,395,928. Irish Australian: 2,410,833. Scottish Australian: 2,176,777.
As the city with the largest overseas-born population in Australia, Sydney is an important entry point for many new arrivals to the country. Sydney is not only home to a number of established migrant communities, but also hosts a number of higher education institutions and businesses which draw in overseas migrants.