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Cultural diversity: Census
Information on country of birth, year of arrival, ancestry, language and religion
Key statistics
- 27.6 per cent of the population were born overseas.
- 61,860 international visitors were in Australia during the Census collection period.
- Top 5 languages used at home, other than English, were Mandarin (2.7 per cent), Arabic (1.4 per cent), Vietnamese (1.3 per cent), Cantonese (1.2 per cent) and Punjabi (0.9 per cent).
- Top 5 ancestries were English (33.0 per cent), Australian (29.9 per cent), Irish (9.5 per cent), Scottish (8.6 per cent) and Chinese (5.5 per cent).
- Top 5 religious affiliations were No religion (38.9 per cent), Catholic (20 per cent), Anglican (9.8 per cent), Islam (3.2 per cent) and Hinduism (2.7 per cent).
Top 5 countries of birth (excluding Australia)
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Description
Based on place ofusual residence. Excludes overseas visitors.
Source: Country of birth of person (BPLP)
| Country | Census population count |
|---|---|
| England | 927,490 |
| India | 673,352 |
| China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) | 549,618 |
| New Zealand | 530,492 |
| Philippines | 293,892 |
- Based on place ofusual residence. Excludes overseas visitors.
Source: Country of birth of person (BPLP)
| 1996 | 2016 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian | 12,582,764 | 12,201,600 | 11,148,814 |
| Other religions(b) | 652,218 | 1,920,835 | 2,538,587 |
| No Religion(c) | 2,948,888 | 7,040,717 | 9,886,957 |
| Total | 17,752,829 | 23,401,892 | 25,422,788 |
- Based on place ofusual residence. Excludes overseas visitors.
- Other religions includes Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and other religions.
- No religion includes Secular Beliefs (e.g. Atheism) and Other Spiritual Beliefs (e.g. New Age). In 2016 the order of the response categories changed on the Census form, no religion was moved to the first response. This may result in higher responses reported for the 'No religion' category.
Source: Religious affiliation (RELP)
Census data stories and concepts
Articles and information papers that related to this topic include:
Understanding ancestry, language and birthplace of the Norfolk Island population
Understanding Migrant statistics in the Census and other data sources
Permanent migrants in Australia - insights from the Australian Census and Migrants Integrated Dataset (ACMID)
Temporary visa holders in Australia - insights from the Australian Census and Temporary Entrants Integrated Dataset (ACTEID)
How Census data is used
Learn how Census data helps community groups, businesses and governments make important decisions.
Casey Cardinia Public Libraries uses Census data to develop library collections for Punjabi speakers
The City of Casey is one of Victoria’s largest and fastest growing areas. Casey Cardinia Libraries, with seven branches and a popular mobile library, provides services to the diverse community of more than 420,000 people. From Hampton Park right through to Pakenham, the libraries offer meeting places where people gather, share news and make connections. Library Information Services Coordinator, Michelle McLean, said they use Census data to help identify language needs in the local community.
“In 2016, Census data for the local government area showed a dramatic increase in Punjabi speakers,” said Mrs McLean. “The data showed 6,695 people stated they spoke Punjabi at home compared to 2,531 people in 2011.”
Given the number of Punjabi speakers moving into the local Cranbourne area, the team used this data, along with survey information, to source Punjabi books and materials.
“We invited Punjabi speaking locals to an event so they could recommend items from the sample collection that interested them,” said Mrs McLean. A new language collection was then launched and continues to be used by this growing community.
“We use Census data about languages people speak at home to tell us which communities may benefit from library services,” said Beth Luppino, General Manager Customer Experience.
“We look at the top four or five languages spoken in our communities, as well as emerging ones.” The library team noticed a trend in the use of the less common Oromo language, an Afroasiatic dialect.
“While it’s only a small number of library users, we added to our bilingual book collection and sourced other language support materials to cater for this group,” said Ms Luppino.
“Census data helps us form a picture of the community,” said Ms Luppino.
“It helps tell us who our audience is so we can plan relevant activities, programs and collections. It also encourages people who are newly arrived in Australia to get a free library membership.”
See moreCensus stories.
Key questions in 2021 Census
- What is the person’s ancestry?
- In which country was the person born?
- In what year did the person first arrive in Australia to live for one year or more?
- In which country was the person’s father born?
- In which country was the person’s mother born?
- Is the person an Australian citizen?
- Does the person use a language other than English at home?
- How well does the person speak English?
- What is the person's religion?
The questions from the 2021 Census are output into variables. To see descriptions of the variables, including data use considerations, relevant to this topic see the 2021 Census dictionary: Cultural diversity.
Data downloads
Data table for Cultural diversity summary
Data table for Census article - Religious affiliation in Australia
Other relevant data downloads can be found on the following pages:
- Country of birth of person by state and territory of usual residence - 2016 and 2021
- Selected countries of birth of person by state and territory of usual residence - 2021
- Religious affiliation - 1996, 2016 and 2021
Other ABS links
To access more 2021 Census data, seeSearch Census data or to build your own data sets, seeCensus data tools.
Explore other ABS data:
Post release changes
15/11/2022 - Census article Religious affiliation in Australia
Table of Religious affiliation of recent migrants: Corrected count of Not Stated in Number of migrants column and proportions of Christianity, Other religions and No religious affiliation in Proportions of migrants column to reflect counts and proportions of migrants who arrived in Australia from 2017 to 10 August 2021.
27/07/2022 - Census article Religious affiliation in Australia
Graph of Count of people with Christian affiliation in 2016 and 2021, age at 2016 and graph of Count of people reporting No religion in 2016 and 2021, age at 2016: Corrected labelling of 2016 data in both graphs to make 'age at 2016' accurate and updated data points for persons at age accordingly.