Preliminary results from the 2016 census were released this week and it has revealed Australia is a fast changing and culturally diverse nation.
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Australia’s estimated resident population has grown to 24.4 million people by December 31, 2016 and 1.3 million new migrants from 180 countries have arrived since 2011 with China (191,000) and India (163,000) the most common countries of birth for new arrivals.
While the majority of migrants settle in Sydney and Melbourne, most Kiwis choose to call Queensland home, with more than one in three (35 per cent) of 98,000 New Zealanders who arrived since 2011 in our state.
Of all Australian residents, just more than a quarter were born overseas, with England the most common country of birth other than Australia.
However, with China, India, and the Philippines all in the top five for the first time ever the majority of people born overseas are now from Asia, not Europe.
We remain predominantly English speaking with 72.7 per cent of people reporting they spoke only English at home and 60 per cent of people report a religious affiliation. However, the proportion of people reporting no religion increased to 30 per cent in 2016 – up from 22 per cent five years ago and nearly double the 16 per cent in 2001.
Australians are getting older. The 2016 Census found that there are 664,473 additional people aged 65 and over since 2011.
The proportion of the people who reported as having Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin has increased again in 2016, accounting for 2.8 per cent of the population. With 649,171 people indicating that they have Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin, the population size has increased by 18.4 per cent since 2011, and nearly doubled since 1996.
See page 8 for a detailed look at local statistics.
The headline figure of a population drop is hardly surprising given the mining decline but there is still a healthy base of population going forward.
What is important now is to staunch the losses to enable Mount Isa fulfill its strategic potential and grow in better times.
Derek Barry