Romanian Australians may include those who have immigrated toAustralia fromRomania, andAustralian-born citizens ofRomanian descent. According toABS (2021 census) figures, there are 15,268 people in Australia who were born in Romania[1] and 28,103 people with Romanian ancestry in Australia.[2]
Romanians were registered in Australia for the first time more than 80 years ago having emigrated for work seeking a more prosperous economic status, or as missionaries.[3] But the first wave of Romanian emigrants to Australia came afterWorld War II, when Romania was experiencing severe economic and political problems. The Romanians who were then emigrating to Australia principally settled in areas aroundSydney,Melbourne andBrisbane. The number of Romanians who came to Australia at the time is estimated to be around 2,000 people.[4]
The second wave of Romanian emigration to the Australian continent began after theRomanian Revolution of 1989, when the Communist regime fell and citizens received the right to leaveRomania. They came in large numbers for the same reasons as the first-wave immigrants.
A diverse range of ethnic backgrounds can be found among the Romanian-born population in Australia, including Roma (Gypsies), Germans, Hungarians, Serbians, Russians, Greeks, Jews, Turks, and Bulgarians.[5]
In the 2006 Census, among Romanian-born persons, the religious breakdown was as follows: 80.6% Christianity, 5.8% no religion or atheism, 4.4% Judaism, 3.0% other religions and 5.6% did not answer the question.[9]
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