The Nepalese population in Australia has doubled since 2016

In late June the ABS released the first batch of 2021 Census data. The Census provides critical information on the socio-economic characteristics of the population, which underpins the evidence base for service planning. This is the first in a series of a number of blogs highlighting important and interesting changes to the Australian demographic landscape. This blog looks at the Nepalese population in Australia.

How many Nepalese people are there in Australia?

The Nepalese born community is now one of the largest CALD groups in Australia, having doubled in size since 2016. This increase was flagged in the annual population estimates produced by the ABS on the size of overseas born communities. 

Census data shows that in 2016, there were 54,760 Nepalese born people in Australia, increasing to 122,510 in 2021. This is the largest increase of the key CALD groups. Census data also shows that around three-quarters of Nepalese born people arrived in Australia in the last ten years. Many Nepalese people who come to Australia are students and skilled migrants. Since 2017, Nepal has been one of the main countries of people applying for student visas in Australia.

Unsurprisingly, the Nepalese born community has a young age structure, with around 95% aged under 45 years. Typically, the age structure of more recent CALD communities migrating to Australia is skewed towards young adults. However over time the population matures and begins to age. This is exemplified by the CALD communities who mainly arrived in Australia during the 1950s and 1960s. For instance, the Italian born community is ageing rapidly, with about 42% aged 75 years or more. Their numbers declined by 6% between 2016 and 2021, mainly as a result of mortality.

Due to the staggered release of Census data, there is limited data on the characteristics of the Nepalese born population in the public domain. Aside from age and year of arrival, the only other indicative data is based on language spoken. There are around 133,070 Nepali speakers in Australia, and more than 90% of these people have good English proficiency ie they speak English well or very well. 

Sydney is home to around half of the Nepalese born community

Identifying concentrations of CALD communities is important from a service planning perspective, particularly for those who are recent arrivals or whose English proficiency is limited. With regards the distribution of the Nepalese born community, almost half of them live in Greater Sydney. The community numbered just 14,870 in 2011, but has almost quadrupled in size to reach 59,055 in 2021.

The map below shows that within Sydney, the population is highly concentrated. The inner west LGAs of Burwood (7.6%) and Strathfield (6.8%) have the highest proportion of Nepalese born people in their populations. However Cumberland Council, located further west, had the highest number of Nepalese born people (10,060), followed by Georges River (8,748). The proportions in these LGAs were 5.7% and 4.3% respectively.

In contrast, there are relatively few Nepalese born people in regional NSW. The main concentration was in Dubbo Regional Council, where there were 710 people comprising just over 1% of the population.

Nepalese born communities in Victoria and Tasmania

Outside of Sydney, Nepalese born communities are much smaller in size. Greater Melbourne is home to another 18,510 Nepalese born people, or around 15% of the Australian total. The Nepalese born are concentrated across the northern suburbs, particularly in the LGAs of Moreland (2.1% of the population), Hume and Whittlesea (both less than 1%).

It may surprise some readers that Tasmania is home to more than 6,200 Nepalese born people, representing just over 1% of the population. This makes Nepal the third largest overseas born community in Tasmania behind the United Kingdom and China. What's more remarkable is the tremendous growth in the community - even in 2016, there were just 500 Nepalese born in the state. In other words, there has been an eightfold increase in just five years!

In 2021, two-thirds of the Nepalese born community live in Greater Hobart, most notably in the northern suburbs. In Glenorchy LGA, 4.3% of the population (2,150 people) were born in Nepal, compared to just 260 people in 2016. Hobart and Launceston LGAs also have sizeable Nepalese born communities, comprising 1.8% of the population.

Summary

In a short space of time, Nepal has become one of the main CALD communities in Australia. In 2021, there are more 122,000 Nepalese born people living in Australia. The community has doubled in size since 2016 on the back of strong migration. It is spatially concentrated, with almost half of the community living in Sydney, with smaller clusters in Melbourne and Hobart.

2021 Census data will continue its staged release over the next 18 months. I'm particularly looking forward to the data becoming available in Tablebuilder, so that I can provide better insights on the characteristics of the Australian population.