Census reveals a fast growing, changing nation

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By Leith van Onselen

The ABS has just released the Census 2016 data, which reveals that Australia’s population ballooned by 1.9 million people (+8.8%) in the five years to 2016, driven by a 1.3 million increase in new migrants. The key data is provided in the below tables:

Melbourne’s population surged by an insane 485,200 (+12.1%) to 4.485 million people in the five years to 2016, versus Sydney’s growth of 432,300 people (+12.1%) to 4.823 million. Moreover, two-thirds of Australians live in the capital cities, with 86% of migrants congregating in the capitals (primarily in Sydney and Melbourne).

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The ethnic composition of Australia also changed materially between 2006 and 2011, with China (191,000) and India (163,000) being the most common countries of birth of our new arrivals, taking their share of the Australian population to 2.2% and 1.9% respectively from 1.5% and 1.4% respectively in the 2011 Census. Moreover, for the first time in history, the majority of people born overseas are now from Asia, not Europe.

Overall, the proportion of Australians born overseas rose from 24.6% in 2011 to 26.3% in 2016.

According to the Census, the number of occupied dwellings rose by 525,759 (+6.8%) in the five years to 2016, suggesting that dwelling construction failed to keep up with the immigration-fueled population growth.

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Over the coming week, I will produce a member’s only Special Report examining the Census as it pertains to the Australian housing market.

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About the author
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.