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Asian Australians

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Asian Australians
Total population
Increase 3,550,882
16.3% of the population (2020) [1][2]
Chinese Australians: 1,213,903
Indian Australians: 619,163
Filipino Australians: 304,015
Vietnamese Australians: 294,798
Malaysian Australians: 184,438
Korean Australians: 123,017
Sri Lankan Australians: 109,853
Japanese Australians: 71,013
Thai Australians: 70,234
Indonesian Australians: 65,881
Pakistani Australians: 64,346
Nepalese Australians: 62,806
Bangladeshi Australians: 50,072
Burmese Australians: 49,178
Cambodian Australians: 45,720
Afghan Australians: 27,444
Taiwanese Australians: 18,522
Laotian Australians: 15,132
Singaporean Australians: 8,404
Hmong Australians: 3,343
Tibetan Australians: 1,883
Regions with significant populations
Capital cities of Australia:
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and Canberra
Australian towns and regions:
Notably Broome and the Torres Strait Islands[A]
External territories of Australia:
Christmas Island and Cocos Islands (More than 90% of the total populations of the two territories)[B]
Languages
Australian English · Asian languages
Religion
Buddhism · Christianity · Hinduism · Sikhism · Islam · East Asian religions · Indian religions · other religions

Asian Australians are Australians of Asian ancestry (including naturalised Australians who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants).

Terminology

The Australian Bureau of Statistics and Australian Census does not collect data based on race. Instead, it collects information on distinct ethnic ancestries, of which census respondents can select up to two. For the purposes of aggregating data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics in its Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG) has grouped certain ancestries into certain categories, including:[7]

Notably, Middle East ancestries are separately classified under Middle Eastern and North African and not as a subset of Asian ancestries.[7] This includes people of Arab, Turkish and Iranian ancestries, but not for example Armenian which are classified as Central Asian and therefore Asian Australian.[8]

In general Australian English parlance (rather than statistical usage), 'Asian' generally refers to persons of East Asian and Southeast Asian ancestry, with persons of South Asian ancestry generally referred to by their specific national ancestral origin, e.g. 'Indian' or 'Pakistani'.[9][failed verification]

Given that ancestry is the primary statistical measure of ethnicity or cultural origins in Australia, and that the distinct ancestry groups may be historically, culturally and geographically far-removed from each other, information on Australians with ancestry from Asia are found at the respective articles for each separate article (e.g. Chinese Australian, Indian Australian, etc.).

At the 2016 census, there were 3,550,882 nominations of ancestries classified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as falling within the ASCCEG geographical categories of East Asia, Southeast Asia and Central and Southern Asia.[2] This represents 16.3% of the 21,769,209 persons who nominated their ancestry, and therefore represents the maximum proportion of the population with ancestry from one of the above Asian geographical categories given that some respondents may have nominated two ancestries from the Asian geographical categories.[10] 2,665,814 persons claimed one of the six most commonly nominated Asian ancestries, namely Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and Sri Lankan, at the 2016 census.[1] Persons claiming one of these six ancestries alone represented 12.25% of the total population who nominated their ancestry.[1]

History of immigration

See also: History of Chinese Australians

Gold rush

Main article: Victorian gold rush

Although the Chinese had been arriving in Australia as early as 1818 (e.g. John Shying), Chinese immigration to Australia increased dramatically as a result of the Victorian gold rushes (c. 1850s to 1860s). New Chinese and Australian communities came into conflict due to prejudice and misunderstanding, resulting in several riots at Lambing Flat and Buckland. Earlier anti-Chinese laws enacted by the individual Australian colonies were the background to the White Australia policy (1901-1973).

Immigration restriction

Main article: Immigration Restriction Act 1901

In the 1870s and 1880s, the trade union movement began a series of protests against foreign labour. The union movement was critical of Asians, mainly Chinese, who did not join unions, and who were prepared to work for lower wages and conditions. [dubious – discuss][11] Wealthy land owners in rural areas countered with the argument Asians working on lower wages and conditions were necessary for development in tropical Queensland and the Northern Territory.[11] It was claimed that without Asian workers these regions would be abandoned.[dubious – discuss][12] Under growing pressure from the union movement, each Australian colony enacted legislation between 1875 and 1888 excluding further Chinese immigration.[dubious – discuss][12]

Post-war immigration

Main article: Post-war immigration to Australia

The government began to expand access to citizenship for non-Europeans in 1957 by allowing access to 15-year residents, and in 1958 by reforming entry permits via the Migration Act 1958. In March 1966, the immigration ministry began a policy of allowing the immigration of skilled and professional non-Europeans, and of expanding the availability of temporary residency to these groups. These cumulatively had the effect of increasing immigration numbers from non-European countries. In 1973 Whitlam took steps to bring about a more non-discriminatory immigration policy—temporarily bringing down overall immigration numbers. The eventual evolution of immigration policy has been along a trajectory of non-discrimination, dismantling European-only policies, and the broadening of pathways to citizenship for Asians.[13] During the Fraser government, with the increasing intake of Vietnamese refugees in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Australia experienced the largest intake of Asian immigrants since the arrival of the Chinese gold miners during the gold rush of the 1850s and 1860s.[citation needed] In 1983, the level of British immigration was below the level of Asian immigration for the first time in Australian history.[14]

Demographics

Notably, Australia does not collect statistics on the racial origins of its residents, instead collecting data at each five-yearly census on distinct ancestries, of which each census respondent may choose up to two.[10]

At the 2016 census, there were 3,550,882 nominations of ancestries classified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as falling within the ASCCEG geographical categories of East Asia, Southeast Asia and Central and Southern Asia.[2] This represents 16.3% of the 21,769,209 persons who nominated their ancestry, and therefore represents the maximum proportion of the population with ancestry from one of the above Asian geographical categories given that some respondents may have nominated two ancestries from the Asian geographical categories.[10]

2,665,814 persons claimed one of the six most commonly nominated Asian ancestries, namely Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and Sri Lankan, at the 2016 census.[1] Persons claiming one of these six ancestries alone represented 12.25% of the total population who nominated their ancestry.[1]

30% of Asians in Australia go to university, 20% of all Australian doctors are Asian, and 37% of Asian Australians take part in some form of organised sport.[dubious – discuss][15] Second and third generation Chinese and Indian Australians are already present in large numbers.[15] Sydney and Melbourne have made up a large proportion of Asian immigration, with Chinese Australians constituting Sydney's fourth largest ancestry (after English, Australian and Irish). Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese-Australians are among Sydney's five largest overseas-born communities.[16]

Population

Population of Asian Australian Ancestries in 2019[2]
Ancestry Population
Chinese Australians 1,213,903
Indian Australian 619,163
Filipino Australians 304,015
Vietnamese Australian 294,798
Malaysian Australian 184,438
Korean Australian 123,017
Sri Lankan Australian 109,853
Japanese Australian 71,013
Thai Australian 70,234
Indonesian Australian 65,881
Pakistani Australian 64,346
Nepalese Australian 62,806
Other Indian subcontinent 56,400
Bangladeshi Australian 50,072
Burmese Australian 49,178
Cambodian Australian 45,720
Afghan Australian 27,444
Other Central Asian 25,166
Taiwanese Australian 18,522
Laotian Australian 15,132
Anglo-Indian Australian 13,220
Timorese Australian 8,961
Singaporean Australian 8,404
Other Southeast Asian 7,023
Other North Asian 5,595
Hmong Australian 3,343
Total Asian Australians 3,517,647
Metropolitan areas with significant Asian Australian populations (2016 Census)[2]
Metropolitan area Asian ancestry responses Asian ancestry responses
(% of population nominating ancestry)
Sydney 1,264,242 28.0%
Melbourne 1,026,536 24.4%
Perth 319,302 17.6%
Brisbane 294,389 13.9%
Adelaide 169,018 13.8%

Politics

Main article: Asian Australians in politics

Members of minority groups make up only about 6 percent of the federal Parliament[17]

Support for the view that Asian-Australians experience discrimination is not an overly partisan issue. Labor and Greens voters were more likely to agree that Asian-Australians experience discrimination (87.7 per cent and 88.2 per cent respectively) than other voters. However, more than three-quarters of those who said they would vote for the Liberal/National Coalition (76.2 per cent) concurred.[18]

Social and political issues

Race-based discrimination and violence

See also: Yellow Peril § Australia, Anti-Chinese sentiment § Australia, Anti-Filipino sentiment, Anti-Japanese sentiment § Australia, Anti-Indian sentiment § Australia, and Anti-Pakistan sentiment

Asian Australians have been the targets of discrimination and violence based on their race and or ethnicity.[19][20][21][22][23]

As a result of the September 11 attacks, some Sikh Australians have become subject to discrimination, because of their religious garments they can be mistakenly associated as being Arab or Muslim.[24]

COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, concern has grown due to an increase in anti-Asian[25] sentiment in Australia.[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]

Racial stereotypes

Main articles: Stereotypes of Asians and Stereotypes of South Asians
See also: Ching chong and Chink

There is a widespread perception that Asian Australians are not "Australian" but are instead "perpetual foreigners".[34]

Model minority

Main article: Model minority

Asian Australians are sometimes characterized as a model minority in the Australia.[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]

Bamboo ceiling

Main article: Bamboo ceiling

9.3% of the Australian labour force is Asian born, however Asian Australians are significantly under-represented in leadership roles, with only 4.9% who make it to senior executive level.[43][44]

Social and economic disparities among Asian Australians

Asian Australians are over-represented in high-performing schools, gifted and talented programs and prestigious university courses.[45][46][47][48] However, there are major disparities that exist among Asian Australians when specific ethnic groups are examined.

Cambodian Australians have lower rates of educational qualifications than the general Australian population (13 per cent compared to a national average of 58 per cent), and higher participation in semi-skilled and unskilled occupations (43 per cent are labourers and machinery operators compared to a national average of 8.8 per cent).[49][50][51]

According to the 2016 Census, 35.6 per cent of Laotian Australians aged 15 years and over had some form of higher non-school qualification compared to 60.1 per cent of the Australian population.[52] Laotian Australians participation rate in the labour force was 58.9 per cent (compared to the total Australian population participation rate of 64.6 per cent) and the unemployment rate was 9.3 per cent (compared to the total Australian population unemployment rate of 6.9 per cent).[52]

In 2013, Vietnamese Australian participation rate in the labour force was 61% which is slightly below the national average of around 65% and the unemployment rate was 7.8% which is higher than average and above the national rate of 5.8%.[53]

In 1987, 35 per cent of Hmong Australians in Sydney were unemployed and of those employed, 93 per cent were process workers doing unskilled factory jobs. In 1995, the unemployment rate had come down to 27 per cent (12.5 per cent among females and 33 per cent among males) with a significant proportion of those employed doing semi-skilled or unskilled jobs, compared to 93 per cent in 1987. The number of skilled workers had also increased (30 per cent among females and 19 per cent among males). The few who could obtain formal qualifications seemed to be in more secure and well paid jobs.[54]

The educational levels of Bangladeshi Australians are higher than for total Australian population; 79.0 per cent of the had some form of higher non-school qualification, 8.4 per cent had no qualifications and were still attending an educational institution. The participation rate in the labour force was 74.1 per cent and the unemployment rate was 10.9 per cent. 44.7 per cent were employed in either a skilled managerial, professional or trade occupation.[55]

Notable contributions

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Asian Australians.
Natalie Tran

For principal lists of notable people, see the relevant articles for each relevant ethnicity, for example: Chinese Australians, Indian Australians, Vietnamese Australians, Malaysian Australians, Filipino Australians, Korean Australians and Indonesian Australians.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Broome and the Torres Strait Islands were historically home to thousands of Asian migrants that settled in northern Australia as part of the pearling industry. These Asian migrants were of Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Malay and Sri Lankan (mostly Sinhalese descent). These migrants integrated into local society marrying Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders), which was very common at the time, and European Australians later on. Today, many long time residents in Broome and the Torres Strait Islands have partial Asian ancestry tracing back to these early migrants.[3]
  2. ^ The population of Christmas Islanders of full or partial Asian descent consists mainly of Australians of Malaysian descent particularly Malaysian Chinese and Malay descent but also some individuals of Malaysian Indian descent.[4][5] The majority of inhabitants on the Cocos Islands are the Cocos Malays, who are the indigenous people of Cocos Island. There are also minority populations of ethnic Chinese and Indian descent.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "2016 Census Community Profiles: Australia". quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Census TableBuilder - Guest Users Log in". guest.censusdata.abs.gov.au. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  3. ^ Anna Shnukal; Guy Ramsay; Yuriko Nagata (2017). Navigating Boundaries: The Asian Diaspora in Torres Strait. Pandanus Books. ISBN 9781921934377. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Island induction - Christmas Island District High School". Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  5. ^ Simone Dennis (2008). Christmas Island: An Anthropological Study. Cambria Press. pp. 91–. ISBN 9781604975109. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Culture and Language | Cocos Keeling Islands". www.cocoskeelingislands.com.au. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  7. ^ a b "1249.0 - Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG), 2016". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  8. ^ "1249.0 Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups, 2019". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 18 December 2019.
  9. ^ Zhuang, Yan (9 April 2021). "Does an 'Asian-Australian' Accent Exist?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Fact sheet - Ancestry". www.abs.gov.au. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  14. ^ Price, CA (September 1998). "POST-WAR IMMIGRATION: 1945-1998". Journal of the Australian Population Association. 15 (2): 17.
  15. ^ a b Kennedy, Duncan (17 September 2012). "Young Asians making their mark on Australia". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  16. ^ "2011 Census QuickStats: Greater Sydney". Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  17. ^ Cave, Damien (10 April 2018). "In a Proudly Diverse Australia, White People Still Run Almost Everything". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  18. ^ Director, Centre; [email protected] (10 September 2019). "Research Note: Asian-Australian experiences of discrimination". ANU Centre for Social Research & Methods. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Anthony was playing cricket when an opposing player started shouting 'coronavirus'. His experience isn't unusual". ABC News. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Australian school discriminated against turban-wearing boy". BBC News. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  21. ^ "We fact checked Tanya Plibersek about religious vilification laws. Here's what we found". ABC News. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Racism In Australia Worsened by Anti-China Election Rhetoric". Time. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Vast majority of NSW hate crimes race and religion related: study". The University of Sydney. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Research looks at hate crimes reported by Sikhs in Victoria". SBS Your Language. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  25. ^ Lee, Rennie (26 March 2021). "Australia is also seeing racism against Asians". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  26. ^ Lucas, Ben Schneiders, Clay (12 May 2020). "Asian-Australian groups report surge in racist abuse, assaults during pandemic". The Age. Retrieved 18 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Tan, Xiao; Lee, Rennie; Ruppanner, Leah (December 2021). "Profiling racial prejudice during COVID‐19: Who exhibits anti‐Asian sentiment in Australia and the United States?". Australian Journal of Social Issues. 56 (4): 464–484. doi:10.1002/ajs4.176. ISSN 0157-6321. PMC 8653057. PMID 34898754.
  28. ^ "Degrading racism continues against Chinese-Australians". ABC News. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  29. ^ https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d48cb4d61091100011eded9/t/60f655dd3ca5073dfd636d88/1626756586620/COVID+racism+report+190721.pdf [bare URL PDF]
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  31. ^ Institute, Lowy. "Being Chinese in Australia: Public Opinion in Chinese Communities - Being Chinese in Australia - Lowy Institute". Being Chinese in Australia: Public Opinion in Chinese Communities - Being Chinese in Australia - Lowy Institute. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  32. ^ "One in five Chinese Australians report attacks or threats amid pandemic, rising tensions". Reuters. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  33. ^ https://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/2020/11/The_experience_of_Asian-Australians_during_the_COVID-19_pandemic.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  34. ^ Thai, Michael; Szeszeran, Nicholas A.; Hornsey, Matthew J.; Barlow, Fiona Kate (August 2020). "Forever Foreign? Asian Australians Assimilating to Australian Culture Are Still Perceived as Less Australian Than White Australians". Social Psychological and Personality Science. 11 (6): 812–820. doi:10.1177/1948550619879907. ISSN 1948-5506. S2CID 214292907.
  35. ^ "The Very Model of a Model Ethnic Minority". Meanjin. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  36. ^ "Being a good, quiet and assimilated 'model minority' is making me angry | Masako Fukui". The Guardian. 28 July 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  37. ^ "No, I'm not your 'Asian model minority'!". Griffith Review. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  38. ^ Lee-An, Jiyoung; Chen, Xiaobei. "The model minority myth hides the racist and sexist violence experienced by Asian women". The Conversation. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  39. ^ https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/113608/1/JEMS%20template%20version%20The%20new%20meritocracy%20or%20over%20schooled%20robots.docx [dead link]
  40. ^ "From Yellow Peril to Model Minority: Asians Resist! — Disorient". 24 February 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  41. ^ Walton, Jessica; Truong, Mandy (12 November 2021). Understanding the racial grammar of the model minority myth and its impacts. Alfred Deakin Institute International Conference 2021.
  42. ^ "WoroniThe Myth of the 'Model Minority'". Woroni. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  43. ^ https://www.dca.org.au/research/project/cracking-cultural-ceiling
  44. ^ "Battle of the bamboo ceiling". Topics. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  45. ^ "Asian Australian students' success is often maligned – but it's our education system that's unequal | Christina Ho". the Guardian. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  46. ^ Ho, Christina (2017). "The new meritocracy or over-schooled robots? Public attitudes on Asian–Australian education cultures". Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 43 (14): 2346–2362. doi:10.1080/1369183x.2017.1315855. hdl:10453/113608. S2CID 148813111. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  47. ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/naplan-migrant-students-are-outclassing-aussie-kids-in-literacy-and-numeracy/news-story/ca5260a9f89458dfc835725cff3a05fe [bare URL]
  48. ^ "'Asians always do well': Getting Behind the Stereotypes of 'Ethnic Success' in NSW". Centre for Professional Learning. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
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  53. ^ Prof, Associate; Tuan, Dr Nguyen Anh (18 November 2014). "Vietnamese Australians' Community: Realities and Prospects". Modern Diplomacy. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  54. ^ Tapp, Nicholas; Lee, Gary Yia (November 2010). The Hmong of Australia. ANU Press. ISBN 978-1-921666-95-7.
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