The number of overseas-born Filipinos living in Australia has increased from 171,233 (2011 census) to 246,400. Filipinos now occupy the 6th place (from 8th place) among nationalities of different countries of origin, as revealed in the 2016 census conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The total population of Australia now stands at 24.4 million. From this figure, 67% of Australian population were born in Australia, and England and New Zealand still top the chart of the most number of overseas born population.
In a statement released by ABS, it said that there is an increasing diversity in terms of country of origin, religion and languages spoken.
In terms of religion, Christianity has been the most commonly declared religion at 52.1 percent, followed by Islam at 2.6 percent and Buddhism at 2.4 percent. Surprisingly, 30 percent of the respondents declared No Religion as their response to their affiliation. This number increased from last survey’s 22 percent.
The new Census shows that English is still the dominant language spoken at home at 21 percent. Other languages which figured among the top include (in order) Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese and Vietnamese.
The Filipino numbers
The Philippine Times dissected the numbers in the latest Census to show the data on Filipinos in Australia.
In terms of state of residence, Filipino-Australians are dominantly in New South Wales. They would be mostly living in Sydney, which resonates with the national data stating that overseas born Australian take up residence there. Other Filipino-Australians live in (in order) Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory. On the local front, Filipino-Australians in Victoria would mostly be residents of Melbourne.
The Filipino statistics mirror the national data as far as religion is concerned, with Christianity as the most dominantly reported. This is followed by Secular Affiliation, “not stated” and Islam.
Languages spoken, according to data, still showed Tagalog as the most dominantly spoken among the population, followed by (in order) Filipino, Bisaya, Cebuano, Ilonggo (Hiligaynon), Ilocano, Pampangan and Bicol.
Other interesting data culled from the Census include demographics such as sex, age and income level.
The female population outnumbers the males, with female figures at more than 140,000, while the male population stands at less than 100,000. The ages of Filipinos range between 0-over 100, with those at age 30-39 as the most number. This is followed by those aged between 40-49 and 20-29 years old.
In terms of income, a good number has responded not applicable. However, for those who have declared their incomes, the most dominant earn between 52,000-64,999 annually and 41,600-51,999 annually.
