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ኢትዮጵያውያን አውስትራሊያውያን | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Total population | |
| 18,600 (by ancestry, 2019)[1] 14,092 (by birth, 2021).[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Melbourne | |
| Languages | |
| Variouslanguages of Ethiopia,Australian English | |
| Religion | |
| Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church,Islam,Pentecostalism[3] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Eritrean Australians,Djiboutian Australians,Somali Australians,Kenyan Australians,South Sudanese Australians,Sudanese Australians |
Ethiopian Australians (Amharic:ኢትዮጵያውያን አውስትራሊያውያን,romanized: ītiyop'iyawiyani āwisitiralīyawiyani) are immigrants fromEthiopia toAustralia and their descendants. However, asEthiopia is a multi-ethnic country with significant inter-ethnic tensions, not all individuals from Ethiopia accept the label "Ethiopian", instead preferring to identify by their ethnic group.[3] In particular, variousOromo people use the term 'Oromo Australian' instead.[4][5][6] In contrast, there are many individuals who prefer to label themselves asEthiopian Australians. This is because they oppose labelling themselves based on their ethnicity as they see it as divisive and politicising their ethnic identity.[7] This is common among theAmharic-speaking community along with ethnically mixed individuals, compared to others who stand by their ethnic identity.[8]
Ethiopian refugees who would later settle in Australia began fleeing their home country as early as the 1970s, following the rise to power of theDerg regime.[3] They lived in refugee camps in neighbouring countries, mainlySudan andKenya, some for as long as 20 years before they found a country willing to resettle them. More left as refugees afterEritrea gained independence in 1993.[9] The United States, rather than Australia, was the first-choice destination for most refugees; as a result, the Ethiopians in Australia tend to have less educational background and occupational skills than Ethiopian populations who relocated elsewhere.[3]
Late in the following year, 350 more Ethiopians from theAbu Rakham camp in Sudan, largelysingle or widowed mothers and their families, were resettled in Australia. These were mostlyChristians ofAmhara andTigray descent.[10]
According to the 2006 Australian census 5,633 Australians were born inEthiopia[11] while 5,600 claimed Ethiopian ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry.[1] The similar figures for ancestry and place of birth are indicative of the very recent immigration of this group.
Australia's 2001 census found about 3,600 residents of the country who reported their place of birth as Ethiopia.[9] This made them the 15th-largest group of Ethiopian-born people in a country outside of Ethiopia, ahead of theUnited Arab Emirates and behindNorway.[12] About 85% of those lived in Melbourne, alongside communities of immigrants from other countries in theHorn of Africa, mainlyEritrea andSomalia; they are primarily settled inFootscray and neighbouring suburbs such as Ascot Vale, Braybrook, Flemington, Kensington, and Sunshine.[3] Other communities of Ethiopians can be found inNew South Wales andTasmania.[13]
According to the 2011 Census, 51.3 per cent of Ethiopia-born Australians 15 years and over in age had some form of higher non-school qualifications. 19.7 per cent of the Ethiopia-born aged 15 years and over were still attending an educational institution.[14]
Ethiopia-born individuals in Australia aged 15 years and over participated in the labour force at a rate of 62.3 per cent; the unemployment rate was 15 per cent. Of the 3,775 Ethiopia-born immigrants who were employed, 26.2 per cent worked in a professional, skilled managerial or trade occupation.[14] In Footscray, some have set up ethnic-oriented businesses, such as hair salons, clothing shops, and restaurants with a mostly Ethiopian customer base.[3]
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2016, the most common responses to the religion question among Ethiopian Australian (11.795 in 2016) wereOriental Orthodox (25.6%),Islam (24.4%),Nondenominational Christian (12.7%),Eastern Orthodox (9.8%) and Other Protestant (4.1%).[15]
In 2021, the most common responses to the religion question among Ethiopian Australian wereIslam (27.5%),Oriental Orthodox (25.8%), Nondenominational Christian (13.9%), Eastern Orthodox (7.9%) andNo religion (4.5%).[16]
Religious divisions among migrants from Ethiopia follow ethnic lines. The Amhara and Tigray are largely members of theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church while theGurage are almost evenly divided between members of theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and followers ofIslam. Most Oromo areMuslim or members of theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church or variousPentecostal churches, and theHarari andAfar are almost all Muslims. There were two Ethiopian Pentecostal churches in the Melbourne area as of 2001, as well as an Ethiopian Orthodox church inMaribyrnong. However, there were no mosques specifically devoted toMuslims from Ethiopia; instead, they worship alongside believers from other countries.[3]
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