Statistics from the Australian 2016 census by country of birth. (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics)

21 August 2018

New Zealanders are the second-largest migrant group in Australia by country of birth.

The following information has been sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 Census QuickStats page.

Country of birth statistics

In Australia 66.7% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 3.9%, New Zealand 2.2%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 2.2%, India 1.9% and Philippines 1.0%.

Country of birth of Father

2011 comparison data is not available for this table. For the 2001, 2006 and 2011 Censuses, only whether a person’s father was born in Australia or overseas was collected. In 2016, this question expanded to collect the actual country of birth of a person’s Father.

In Australia, the most common countries of birth for male parents were Australia 52.3%, England 6.0%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 3.0%, New Zealand 2.6% and India 2.6%.

Country of birth of Mother

2011 comparison data is not available for this table. For the 2001, 2006 and 2011 Censuses, only whether a person’s mother was born in Australia or overseas was collected. In 2016, this question expanded to collect the actual country of birth of a person’s Mother.

In Australia, the most common countries of birth for female parents were Australia 54.0%, England 5.6%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 3.0%, New Zealand 2.6% and India 2.6%.

[Read the ABS 2016 Census QuickStats].