Demographics of Australia

Main articles: Demographics of Australia and Immigration to Australia

A beach sloping down from a grassy area on the left to the sea on the right, a city can be seen in the horizon

Nearly three quarters of Australians live in metropolitan cities and coastal areas. The beach is an integral part of the Australian identity.^[213]

For almost two centuries the majority of settlers, and later immigrants, came from the British Isles. As a result the people of Australia are mainly a mixture of British and Irish ethnic origin. In the 2006 Australian census, the most commonly nominated ancestry was Australian (37.13 per cent),^[214] followed by English (32 per cent), Irish (9 per cent), Scottish (8 per cent), Italian (4 per cent), German (4 per cent), Chinese (3 per cent), and Greek (2 per cent).^[215]

Australia's population has quadrupled since the end of World War I,^[216] much of the increase from immigration. Following World War II and through to 2000, almost 5.9 million of the total population settled in the country as new immigrants, meaning that nearly two out of every seven Australians were born in another country.^[217] Most immigrants are skilled,^[218] but the immigration quota includes categories for family members and refugees.^[218] By 2050, Australia's population is currently projected to reach around 42 million.^[219]

In 2005, 24% of Australians were born elsewhere;^[220] the five largest immigrant groups were those from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam, and China.^[211]^[221] Following the abolition of the White Australia policy in 1973, numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy of multiculturalism.^[222] In 2005–06, more than 131,000 people emigrated to Australia, mainly from Asia and Oceania.^[223] The migration target for 2012–13 is 190,000,^[224] compared to 67,900 in 1998–99.^[225]

Aerial view of farming fields interspersed with roads, a small forest near the front of the photo

The Barossa Valley is a wine-producing region in South Australia. Fewer than 15 per cent of Australians live in rural areas.

The Indigenous population—mainland Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders—was counted at 410,003 (2.2 per cent of the total population) in 2001, a significant increase from 115,953 in the 1976 census.^[226] A large number of Indigenous people are not identified in the Census due to undercount and cases where their Indigenous status is not recorded on the form; after adjusting for these factors, the ABS estimated the true figure for 2001 to be around 460,140 (2.4 per cent of the total population).^[227]
Indigenous Australians experience higher than average rates of imprisonment and unemployment,^[228] lower levels of education, and life expectancies for males and females that are 11–17 years lower than those of non-indigenous Australians.^[211]^[229]^[230] Some remote Indigenous communities have been described as having "failed state"-like conditions.

In common with many other developed countries, Australia is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2004, the average age of the civilian population was 38.8 years.^[236] A large number of Australians (759,849 for the period 2002–03)^[237] live outside their home country.

Largest populated areas in Australia (June 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics estimate)^[238]
Rank	City Name	State	Pop.	Rank	City Name	State	Pop.	view talk edit Sydney Melbourne
1	Sydney	NSW	4,627,345	11	Greater Hobart	TAS	216,656
2	Melbourne	VIC	4,137,432	12	Geelong	VIC	180,805
3	Brisbane	QLD	2,074,222	13	Townsville	QLD	176,347
4	Perth	WA	1,738,807	14	Cairns	QLD	153,075
5	Adelaide	SA	1,212,982	15	Toowoomba	QLD	132,936
6	Gold Coast-Tweed	QLD / NSW	600,475	16	Darwin	NT	128,073
7	Newcastle	NSW	552,776	17	Launceston	TAS	106,655
8	Canberra-Queanbeyan	ACT / NSW	417,860	18	Albury-Wodonga	NSW / VIC	107,086
9	Wollongong	NSW	293,503	19	Ballarat	VIC	97,810
10	Sunshine Coast	QLD	254,650	20	Bendigo	VIC	92,934

Language

Main articles: Languages of Australia and Australian English

Although Australia has no official language, English is so entrenched that it has become the de facto national language.^[2] Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon. General Australian serves as the standard dialect. Spelling is similar to that of British English with a number of exceptions.^[239] According to the 2006 census, English is the only language spoken in the home for close to 79 per cent of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Italian (1.6 per cent), Greek (1.3 per cent) and Cantonese (1.2 per cent);^[240] a considerable proportion of first- and second-generation migrants are bilingual. A 2010–2011 study by the Australia Early Development Index found that the most common language spoken by children after English was Arabic, followed by Vietnamese, Greek, Chinese, and Hindi.^[241]

Between 200 and 300 Indigenous Australian languages are thought to have existed at the time of first European contact, of which only about 70 have survived. Many of these are exclusively spoken by older people; only 18 Indigenous languages are still spoken by all age groups.^[242] At the time of the 2006 Census, 52,000 Indigenous Australians, representing 12 per cent of the Indigenous population, reported that they spoke an Indigenous language at home.^[243] Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 5,500 deaf people.^[244]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Australia

WR Thomas, A South Australian Corroboree, 1864, Art Gallery of South Australia. Aboriginal Australians developed the animist religion of the Dreamtime.

Australia has no state religion, and section 116 of the Australian Constitution prohibits the federal government from making any law to establish any religion, impose any religious observance, or prohibit the free exercise of any religion.^[245] In the 2006 census, 64 per cent of Australians were counted as Christian, including 26 per cent as Roman Catholic and 19 per cent as Anglican. About 19 per cent of the population stated "no religion" (which includes humanism, atheism, agnosticism and rationalism), which was the fastest-growing group from 2001 to 2006, and a further 12 per cent did not answer (the question is optional) or did not give a response adequate for interpretation. The largest non-Christian religion in Australia is Buddhism (2.1 per cent), followed by Islam (1.7 per cent), Hinduism (0.8 per cent) and Judaism (0.5 per cent). Overall, fewer than 6 per cent of Australians identify with non-Christian religions.^[246]

Prior to European settlement in Australia, the animist beliefs of Australia's indigenous people had been practised for millennia. In the case of mainland Aboriginal Australians, their spirituality is known as the Dreamtime and it places a heavy emphasis on belonging to the land. The collection of stories that it contains shaped Aboriginal law and customs. Aboriginal art, story and dance continue to draw on these spiritual traditions. In the case of the Torres Strait Islanders who inhabit the islands between Australia and New Guinea, spirituality and customs reflected their Melanesian origins and dependence on the sea. The 1996 Australian census counted more than 7000 respondents as followers of a traditional Aboriginal religion.^[247]

St Mary's Catholic Cathedral, Sydney, built to a design by William Wardell. About a quarter of Australians are Roman Catholic.

Since the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships in 1788, Christianity has grown to be the major religion. Consequently, the Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter are public holidays, the skylines of Australian cities and towns are marked by church and cathedral spires, and the Christian churches have played an integral role in the development of education, health and welfare services in Australia. The Catholic education system operates as the largest non-government educator, accounting for about 21% of all secondary enrolments at the close of the 2000s (decade), with Catholic Health Australia similarly being the largest non-government provider. Christian welfare organisations also play a prominent role within national life, with organisations like the Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul Society and Anglicare enjoying widespread support. Such contributions are recognised on Australia's currency, with the presence of Christian pastors like Aboriginal writer David Unaipon ($50); founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, John Flynn ($20); and Catherine Helen Spence ($5) who was Australia's first female candidate for political office. Other significant Australian religious figures have included St. Mary McKillop, who became the first Australian to be recognised as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 2010 and Church of Christ pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls, who, like Martin Luther King in the United States, led a movement against racial inequality in Australia and was also the first indigenous Australian to be appointed as a State Governor.
For much of Australian history the Church of England (now known as the Anglican Church of Australia) was the largest religious affiliation, however multicultural immigration has contributed to a decline in its relative position, with the Roman Catholic Church benefiting from the opening of post-war Australia to multicultural immigration and becoming the largest group. Similarly, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism have all been expanding in the post war decades. Weekly attendance at church services in 2001 was about 1.5 million^[248] (about 7.8 per cent of the population).^[249]

An international survey, made by the private, not-for profit German think-tank, the Bertelsmann Foundation, found that "Australia is one of the least religious nations in the western world, coming in 17th out of 21 [countries] surveyed" and that "Nearly three out of four Australians say they are either not at all religious or that religion does not play a central role in their lives."^[250] A survey of 1,718 Australians by the Christian Research Association at the end of 2009 suggested that the number of people attending religious services per month in Australia has dropped from 23 per cent in 1993 to 16 per cent in 2009, and while 60 per cent of 15 to 29-year-old respondents in 1993 identified with Christian denominations, 33 per cent did in 2009.^[251]

Education

Main article: Education in Australia

School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia. Education is the responsibility of the individual states and territories^[252] so the rules vary between states, but in general children are required to attend school from the age of about 5 up until about 16.^[253]^[254] In at least some states (eg, WA)^[255] children aged 16–17 are required to either attend school or participate in vocational training, such as an apprenticeship.
Australia has an adult literacy rate that is assumed to be 99 per cent. In the Programme for International Student Assessment, Australia regularly scores among the top five of thirty major developed countries (member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Catholic education accounts for the largest non-government sector.

Australia has 37 government-funded universities and two private universities, as well as a number of other specialist institutions that provide approved courses at the higher education level.^[256] The University of Sydney is Australia's oldest university, having been founded in 1850, followed by the University of Melbourne three years later. Other notable universities include those of the Group of Eight leading tertiary institutions, including the University of Adelaide (which boasts an association with five Nobel Laureates), the Australian National University located in the national capital of Canberra, Monash University and the University of New South Wales.

The OECD places Australia among the most expensive nations to attend university.^[257] There is a state-based system of vocational training, known as TAFE, and many trades conduct apprenticeships for training new tradespeople.^[258] Approximately 58 per cent of Australians aged from 25 to 64 have vocational or tertiary qualifications,^[211] and the tertiary graduation rate of 49 per cent is the highest among OECD countries. The ratio of international to local students in tertiary education in Australia is the highest in the OECD countries.^[259]