The number of people born in India and now living in Australia has more than doubled in the past decade to more than 750,000, pushing India above China and NZ as the second-biggest country of origin for overseas-born citizens, behind only England.
The ABS Australia’s Population by Country of Birth report shows that at 30 June 2022, our estimated resident population was 26 million. This was a combination of 18.3 million residents born in Australia and 7.7 million residents born overseas.
In 2022, those born in England, India, China and NZ were the largest groups of overseas-born. Together they made up over one third of all migrants living in Australia.
Those born in Nepal and now living in Australia are the fastest growing cohort, increasing from 30,000 to over 150,000 since 2012. Almost as many Nepalese people as Italians now live in Australia.
• The English-born group (961,000) continued to be the largest group of overseas-born. However, this population has steadily decreased from a peak of just over a million in 2013.
• Indian-born (754,000) was the next largest group and surpassed its previous peak in 2020 (724,000).
• Chinese-born (597,000) was the third largest but decreased after reaching a peak in 2019 (661,000).
• NZ -born (586,000) was the fourth largest and surpassed its previous peak in 2013 (585,000).
Western Australia has the largest proportion of overseas-born residents among states and territories at 34 per cent, with Tasmania the lowest at 16 per cent, but the Apple Isle has the fastest growing cohort of overseas-born in the past five years.