The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last week released annual migration data, which showed that the percentage of Australians born overseas hit an all-time high 29.0% in 2016-17:
The cultural and linguistic diversity of Australia’s resident population has been reshaped over many years by migration. Historically, more people immigrate to, than emigrate from, Australia. At 30 June 2017, 29.0% of the estimated resident population (ERP) was born overseas (7.1 million persons). This was an increase from 30 June 2016, when 28.6% of the population was born overseas (6.9 million persons). In 2007, ten years earlier, 25.1% of the population was born overseas (5.2 million persons).
The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
