At 10 am Tuesday 28 June 2022, The Australian Bureau of Statistics launched the first tranche of population data from the 2021 Australian Census, conducted on Tuesday 10 August 2021. Despite much of Australia being in lockdown due to COVID-19, 96.1 per cent of Australian households took part in the 2021 census, providing a unique and accurate snapshot into the diverse lives of Australians. 

The 2021 Census has told us that Australians are more diverse than ever and are more likely to come from immigrant families. Over half (51.5 per cent) of Australia’s population were first or second-generation migrants, having at least one parent born overseas. 

England was the most common country of origin for Australia’s overseas-born population at 27.6 percent. However, India has taken over China and New Zealand as the second most common country of origin for Australia’s overseas-born population. India is also the third-largest country of birth behind England and Australia. 

A total of 1 million people have migrated to Australia between 2017-2021. 

In 2021, the top five recorded ancestries of Australians were: English (33 percent), Australian (29.9 per cent), Irish (9.5 per cent), Scottish (8.6 per cent) and Chinese (5.5 per cent). 

Whilst Australians are also less religious in 2021, Hinduism and Islam are Australia’s fastest-growing religions at 2.7 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively. Christianity remains Australia’s most commonly practiced religion, but it is the first time in Australian history that fewer than half of Australians say they are Christian at 43.9 per cent. 

The Executive Director of the Australian Multicultural Foundation, Dr. Hass Dellal said “this increasingly diverse social and cultural landscape present in the 2021 census is a great strength for Australian society. We look forward to continuing working with all Australians to advance the opportunities that an increasingly mainstream multicultural Australia provides us all.”