Australian people
Encyclopedia
Australian people, or simply Australians, are the citizens of Australia
. Australia is a multi-ethnic nation, and therefore the term "Australian" is not a racial identifier. Aside from the Indigenous Australian population, nearly all Australians or their ancestors immigrated within the past 230 years. Colloquial names used to refer to Australians include Aussies, and Antipodeans
.
The mainstream
Australian culture (occasionally defined as the Anglo-Celtic
culture), is a Western culture
largely derived from the traditions of Western Europe
an migrants beginning with the early settlers from England
, Scotland
, and Ireland
. The populations of Sydney
, Melbourne
and the other major cities are different from the demographics of rural Australia as a result of the differing migration patterns.
Australian people can refer to:
, especially in the United Kingdom
, but most return to Australia. The Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement
facilitates open migration to and from New Zealand
. Key factors affecting the Australian Diaspora are rise of a global labour market, more accessible and economical international transport, and increasingly sophisticated communication technologies along with a growing interest in broader global community.
, New Zealand
, Italy
, China
, Vietnam
, India
, the Philippines
, and Greece
).
Note that population estimates in the table below do not include the Aboriginal population before 1961. Estimates of Aboriginal population prior to European settlement range from 300,000 to one million, with archaeological finds indicating a sustainable population of around 750,000.
For generations, the vast majority of both colonial-era settlers and post-Federation immigrants came from the United Kingdom
and Ireland
, although the gold rushes also drew migrants from other countries. Since the end of World War II
, Australia's population more than doubled, spurred by large-scale European immigration during the immediate post-war decades. At this time, the White Australia Policy
discouraged non-European immigration.
Abolition of the White Australia Policy in the mid-1970s led to a significant increase in non-European immigration, mostly from Asia and the Middle East. About 90% of Australia's population is of European
descent. Over 8% of the population is of Asian
descent (predominantly Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino and Indian). The total indigenous population is estimated to be about 520,000 individuals, including people of mixed descent. The population of Queensland also includes descendants of South Sea Islanders brought over for indentured servitude
in the 19th century.
In the 2006 Australian Census residents were asked to describe their ancestry, in which up to two could be nominated. Proportionate to the Australian resident population, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:
At the 2006 Census 455,026 people (or 2.3% of the total Australian population) reported they were of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.
, a West Germanic language
, is the de facto national language of Australia and is spoken by the majority of the population, regardless of other languages spoken. Most Australians speak Australian English
, however Australian Aboriginal English
and Torres Strait English
, along with various creoles and pidgins, are spoken by some Indigenous Australians. Australia is home to a great number of unique but endangered Indigenous Australian languages, as well as Australian Aboriginal sign languages
. Australia's hearing-impaired community primarily uses Auslan
, a member of the BANZSL
language family.
The diverse backgrounds of Australians lead to a great number of community languages being spoken:
Australians have various religions and spiritual beliefs. The Australian Bureau of Statistics
gathers information on religious belief in the national census. As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is lower than would be indicated by the proportion of the population identifying themselves as Christian; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million, or about 7.5% of the population.
. Since there is no national identification card, commonly accepted proofs of Australian citizenship are the Australian passport
, an Australian birth certificate (prior to 1986, when jus soli
was abolished), or an Australian citizenship certificate. Australia permits dual citizenship with no restriction.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Australia is a multi-ethnic nation, and therefore the term "Australian" is not a racial identifier. Aside from the Indigenous Australian population, nearly all Australians or their ancestors immigrated within the past 230 years. Colloquial names used to refer to Australians include Aussies, and Antipodeans
Antipodes
In geography, the antipodes of any place on Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points that are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line running through the centre of the Earth....
.
The mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
Australian culture (occasionally defined as the Anglo-Celtic
Anglo-Celtic Australian
Anglo-Celtic Australian are citizens of Australia with British and/or Irish ancestral origins.-Demography:From the beginning of the colonial era until the mid-20th century, the vast majority of settlers were British or Irish...
culture), is a Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
largely derived from the traditions of Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
an migrants beginning with the early settlers from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The populations of Sydney
Demographics of Sydney
Sydney is Australia's most populous city, and is also the most populous city in Oceania. In the 2006 census 4,119,190 persons declared themselves as residents of the Sydney Statistical Division - about one-fifth of Australia's total population. If contiguous urban areas are considered, Sydney's...
, Melbourne
Demographics of Melbourne
Melbourne is Australia's second largest city, a diverse and multicultural city.Almost a quarter of Victoria's population was born overseas, and the city is home to residents from 180 countries, who speak over 233 languages and dialects and follow 116 religious faiths...
and the other major cities are different from the demographics of rural Australia as a result of the differing migration patterns.
Australian people can refer to:
- The citizens of AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, as defined by Australian nationality lawAustralian nationality lawAustralian nationality law determines who is and who is not an Australian, and is based primarily on the principle of Jus soli. The status of Australian citizenship was created by the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 which received Royal Assent on 21 December 1948 and came into force on... - People whose ancestors lived in AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Australian diaspora
There is an estimated 1 million Australians (approximately 5% of the population) residing outside Australia. Hundreds of thousands of young Australians traditionally spend time living in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, especially in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but most return to Australia. The Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement
Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement
The Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement is an informal agreement between Australia and New Zealand to allow for the free movement of citizens of one nation to the other.- Treaty history :...
facilitates open migration to and from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Key factors affecting the Australian Diaspora are rise of a global labour market, more accessible and economical international transport, and increasingly sophisticated communication technologies along with a growing interest in broader global community.
Population
The current Australian population is estimated at ( ). This does not include an estimated 1 million Australians living overseas (see above), but it includes the estimated 24% of Australians born overseas (in various nations, but predominantly the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
).
Historical
The data in the table is sourced from the Australian Bureau of StatisticsAustralian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
Note that population estimates in the table below do not include the Aboriginal population before 1961. Estimates of Aboriginal population prior to European settlement range from 300,000 to one million, with archaeological finds indicating a sustainable population of around 750,000.
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Ancestry
For generations, the vast majority of both colonial-era settlers and post-Federation immigrants came from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, although the gold rushes also drew migrants from other countries. Since the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Australia's population more than doubled, spurred by large-scale European immigration during the immediate post-war decades. At this time, the White Australia Policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
discouraged non-European immigration.
Abolition of the White Australia Policy in the mid-1970s led to a significant increase in non-European immigration, mostly from Asia and the Middle East. About 90% of Australia's population is of European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
descent. Over 8% of the population is of Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
descent (predominantly Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino and Indian). The total indigenous population is estimated to be about 520,000 individuals, including people of mixed descent. The population of Queensland also includes descendants of South Sea Islanders brought over for indentured servitude
Blackbirding
Blackbirding is a term that refers to recruitment of people through trickery and kidnappings to work as labourers. From the 1860s blackbirding ships were engaged in seeking workers to mine the guano deposits on the Chincha Islands in Peru...
in the 19th century.
In the 2006 Australian Census residents were asked to describe their ancestry, in which up to two could be nominated. Proportionate to the Australian resident population, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:
- Australian (31.13%)
- EnglishEnglish AustralianEnglish Australians, also known as Anglo-Australians are Australians of English descent, are the single largest ethnic group in Australia and the largest 'ancestry' identity in the Australia Census after "Australian"...
(29.65%) - IrishIrish AustralianIrish Australians have played a long and enduring part in Australia's history. Many came to Australia in the eighteenth century as settlers or as convicts, and contributed to Australia's development in many different areas....
(9.08%) - ScottishScottish AustralianScottish Australians are residents of Australia who are of Scottish ancestry.According to the 2006 Australian census 130,204 Australian residents were born in Scotland, while 1,501,204 claimed Scottish ancestry, either alone or in combination with another ancestry.- History :The links between...
(7.16%) - Italian (4.29%)
- GermanGerman AustralianGerman religious refugees represented the first major wave of German settlement in Australia, arriving in South Australia in 1838. Some were active as missionaries and explorers in Australia from early in the 19th century, and German prospectors were well-represented in the 1850s gold rushes...
(4.09%) - ChineseChinese AustralianChinese Australian is an Australian of Chinese heritage. In the 2006 Australian Census, 669,890 Australian residents identified themselves as having Chinese ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry....
(3.37%) - GreekGreek AustralianGreeks are the seventh-largest ethnic group in Australia, after those declaring their ancestry simply as "Australian". In the 2006 census, 365,147 persons declared having Greek ancestry, either alone or in conjunction with another ethnicity....
(1.84%) - DutchDutch AustralianA Dutch Australian is an inhabitant of Australia with full or partial Dutch ancestry, the majority of these people are part of the Dutch diaspora.-History:...
(1.56%)
- LibyanLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
(1.17%) - LebaneseLebanese AustralianA Lebanese Australian is an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Lebanese descent. The community is multi-religious, and includes a Christian, mostly Maronite Catholic, majority, as well as a large Muslim minority of both the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam, and various other Christian and...
(0.92%) - ArmenianArmenian AustralianArmenian Australian are Australians who have ancestry from the country of Armenia. They have become one of the key Armenian diasporas around the world and amongst the largests in the English-speaking world...
(0.82%) - New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
(0.81%) - Filipino (0.81%)
- MalteseMaltese AustralianMaltese Australians are residents or citizens of Australia who are of Maltese ancestry or Maltese citizens. While most of them emigrated to Australia from Malta, a number emigrated from the United Kingdom where they had settled after having been expelled from Egypt, as holders of British passports,...
(0.77%) - CroatianCroatian AustralianCroatia has been a source of migrants to Australia, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2006, 128,051 persons resident in Australia identified themselves as having Croatian ancestry.- History :...
(0.59%) - Australian AboriginalAustralian AboriginesAustralian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
(0.58%) - Welsh (0.57%)
- FrenchFrench AustralianFrench Australians are residents of Australia who are of French ancestry.According to the 2006 Australian census 19,186 Australian residents were born in France while 98,332 claimed French ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry.-Demography:...
(0.5%)
- SerbianSerbian AustralianSerbian Australians are citizens of Australia who are of Serbian ancestry. According to the 2006 census, there are 95,364 people in Australia who are of Serbian ancestry. Serbs have migrated to Australia in various waves during the 20th century...
(0.48%) - BanyumasanBanyumasanBanyumasan may refer to:* Banyumasan language* Banyumasan people* Banyumas Regency...
(0.47%) - SpanishSpanish AustralianSpanish Australians are Australians with ancestry from the European country of Spain. There are approximately 78,271 Australians of Spanish full or partial descent, most of which reside within the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne, with lesser numbers in Brisbane and Perth...
(0.42%) - MacedonianMacedonian AustralianMacedonian Australians are Australians of ethnic Macedonian descent. Many have their origins in the 1920s and 1930s although larger numbers came to Australia after World War II and the Greek Civil War...
(0.42%) - South AfricanSouth African AustralianSouth African Australians are residents of Australia who are of South African ancestry.According to the 2006 Australian census 104,128 Australians were born in South Africa. Also in the Census 79,513 residents claimed South African ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry. Immigration from...
(0.4%) - SinhaleseSinhalese AustralianSinhalese Australians are citizens or residents of Australia of Sinhalese descent. Sinhalese people are the largest ethnic group of Sri Lanka.-History:...
(0.37%) - HungarianHungarian AustralianMost Hungarian immigrants to Australia came after World War II and after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The Hungarian descent in Australia, mostly live in State capital cities. Responses to the last 2006 ABS conducted national census questionnaires could reflect the true numbers of Hungarian...
(0.3%) - Russian (0.3%)
- Turkish (0.3%)
- AmericanAmerican AustralianAmerican Australians are Australians who are either born in, or descended from migrants from the United States and its territories. This can include people of European, African American, American Indian, Latin American, Asian, or Pacific Islander backgrounds....
(0.28%)
At the 2006 Census 455,026 people (or 2.3% of the total Australian population) reported they were of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.
Languages
EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, a West Germanic language
West Germanic languages
The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three traditional branches of the Germanic family of languages and include languages such as German, English, Dutch, Afrikaans, the Frisian languages, and Yiddish...
, is the de facto national language of Australia and is spoken by the majority of the population, regardless of other languages spoken. Most Australians speak Australian English
Australian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
, however Australian Aboriginal English
Australian Aboriginal English
Australian Aboriginal English is the name given to a dialect of Australian English used by a large section of the Indigenous Australian population. It is made up of a number of varieties which developed differently in different parts of Australia...
and Torres Strait English
Torres Strait English
Torres Strait English is a dialect of the English language spoken by the people of various backgrounds born and raised on Thursday Island and neighbouring islands in Torres Strait, North Queensland, Australia...
, along with various creoles and pidgins, are spoken by some Indigenous Australians. Australia is home to a great number of unique but endangered Indigenous Australian languages, as well as Australian Aboriginal sign languages
Australian Aboriginal sign languages
Many Australian Aboriginal cultures have or traditionally had a manually coded language, a sign-language counterpart of their spoken language. This appears to be connected with various speech taboos between certain kin or at particular times, such as during a mourning period for women or during...
. Australia's hearing-impaired community primarily uses Auslan
Auslan
Auslan is the sign language of the Australian deaf community. The term Auslan is an acronym of "Australian sign language", coined by Trevor Johnston in the early 1980s, although the language itself is much older...
, a member of the BANZSL
BANZSL
BANZSL, or British, Australian and New Zealand Sign Language, is the language of which British Sign Language , Auslan and New Zealand Sign Language may be considered dialects...
language family.
The diverse backgrounds of Australians lead to a great number of community languages being spoken:
| Language | Speakers | Language | Speakers | Language | Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... only |
15,581,333 | Indigenous Australian languages | 55,705 | Samoan Samoan language Samoan Samoan Samoan (Gagana Sāmoa, is the language of the Samoan Islands, comprising the independent country of Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language—alongside English—in both jurisdictions. Samoan, a Polynesian language, is the first language for most... |
28,525 |
| Italian Italian language Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia... |
316,895 | Korean Korean language Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing... |
54,623 | Portuguese Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095... |
25,779 |
| Greek Greek language Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;... |
252,226 | Turkish Turkish language Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,... |
53,857 | Khmer Khmer language Khmer , or Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language , with speakers in the tens of millions. Khmer has been considerably influenced by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious... |
24,715 |
| Polish Polish language Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries... |
53,389 | Assyrian Assyrian Neo-Aramaic Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is a Neo-Aramaic dialect, spoken by an estimated 220,000 people , formerly in the area between Lake Urmia, north-western Iran, and Siirt, south-eastern Turkey, but now more widely throughout the... |
23,526 | ||
| Arabic Arabic language Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book... |
243,662 | Serbian Serbian language Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries.... |
52,534 | Banyumasan Banyumasan language The Banyumasan language, spoken on the island of Java, is usually considered a dialect of Javanese in modern language classification.The Banyumasan language is mainly spoken in the three areas of the island of Java: the Banyumasan region, located in westernmost Central Java Province and surrounding... |
23,164 |
| Mandarin | 220,600 | French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts... |
43,216 | Persian Persian language Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence... |
22,841 |
| Vietnamese Vietnamese language Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam... |
194,863 | Indonesian Indonesian language Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries.... |
42,036 | Hungarian Hungarian language Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe.... |
21,565 |
| Spanish Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... |
98,001 | Maltese Maltese language Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic... |
36,514 | Hindi | 20,223 |
| Filipino Filipino language This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:... (Tagalog Tagalog language Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila... ) |
92,331 | Russian Russian language Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics... |
36,502 | Urdu | 19,288 |
| German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... |
75,634 | Dutch Dutch language Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second... |
36,183 | Afrikaans | 16,806 |
| Cantonese | 70,011 | Japanese Japanese language is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an... |
35,111 | Bengali Bengali language Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script... |
15,743 |
| Macedonian Macedonian language Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora... |
67,835 | Tamil Tamil language Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore... |
32,700 | Punjabi Punjabi language Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language... |
13,164 |
| Croatian Croatian language Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries... |
63,612 | Sinhalese | 29,055 | ||
Religion
| Christianity Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings... |
63.9% | Islam Islam Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~... |
1.7% |
| No religion Atheism Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities... |
18.7% | Judaism Judaism Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people... |
0.4% |
| No response | 11.2% | Other | 2% |
| Buddhism Buddhism Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th... |
2.1% | Source: ABS | |
| Christianity (as % of total) | |
| Roman Catholicism | 25.8% |
| Anglicanism Anglicanism Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English... |
18.7% |
| Other denomination | 19.4% |
| Source: ABS | |
Australians have various religions and spiritual beliefs. The Australian Bureau of Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
gathers information on religious belief in the national census. As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is lower than would be indicated by the proportion of the population identifying themselves as Christian; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million, or about 7.5% of the population.
Nationality
Australians share Australian nationality, which is governed by Australian nationality lawAustralian nationality law
Australian nationality law determines who is and who is not an Australian, and is based primarily on the principle of Jus soli. The status of Australian citizenship was created by the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 which received Royal Assent on 21 December 1948 and came into force on...
. Since there is no national identification card, commonly accepted proofs of Australian citizenship are the Australian passport
Australian Passport
Australian passports are issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, both in Australia and overseas. Since 1984, Australian passports are issued only to citizens of Australia.- History :...
, an Australian birth certificate (prior to 1986, when jus soli
Jus soli
Jus soli , also known as birthright citizenship, is a right by which nationality or citizenship can be recognized to any individual born in the territory of the related state...
was abolished), or an Australian citizenship certificate. Australia permits dual citizenship with no restriction.