Australia's overseas born communities in 2023

Each year the ABS releases population estimates of the overseas born population in Australia. It provides more timely insights into the composition of this population in between Census years. Data from the Census is combined with more recent administrative data (Medicare, Dept of Home Affairs) to produce estimates for Australia, states and territories.

Measuring CALD communities with Census data

I recently attended a seminar that looked at spatial patterns of a particular CALD community in Melbourne. The presenter expressed surprise at the age structure as there were very few children born in this particular country. To me, it was a classic example of "traps for young players" when analysing Census data on CALD communities. They are generally measured by birthplace, ancestry and language, but the size of the community will differ depending on the variable used. With the release of 2021 Census data later this year, it's worthwhile revisiting this topic ahead of time.

Australia's overseas born communities in 2020

The ABS has recently released new data on the size of Australia's overseas born communities. At June 2020, there were 7.65 million people in Australia who were born overseas, comprising 29.8% of the population. Where were these people born? What are the fastest growing communities? What is their age structure? How does this relate to the 2021 Census? Read on to find out.

The Maori population in Australia

One of the great attributes of Census data is the ability to look at the characteristics of Australia's ethnic communities.  In many cases there is simply no other data source available.  Ethnic communities are typically measured through birthplace, language and/or ancestry, and Census data has the added advantage in that many variables can be cross-tabulated to provide rich insights into these communities.  This blog uses 2016 Census data to examine some of the characteristics of the Maori community in Australia.

Most of Australia's migrants are here temporarily

The ABS has recently released data from its Australian Census and Temporary Entrants Integrated Dataset (ACTEID) which effectively matches two datasets and provides more insight into the characteristics of migrants.  In an era where there is a lot of conjecture around the scale and composition of Australia's migration program, this type of data release is welcome as it adds to the evidence base.  So what are the key findings?  Read on to find out.

Australia's African population - who are they?

It seems you can barely turn on the TV or read a newspaper these days without some mention of the African crime wave, particularly in Melbourne.  For such a small population, they certainly seem to grab their fair share of headlines.  But describing people as "African" is not helpful.  The diversity of the continent means that "African" can describe a multitude of different people.  Furthermore, an ethnic community can be measured in different ways.  So who are the Africans in Australia?  What are their characteristics?  Read on to find out more.