Mumbai, India (CU)_ According to 2021 statistics, Hinduism in Australia has increased by 55.3% as India has surpassed China and New Zealand to become the third largest birthplace for Australians. According to the census performed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Punjabi language usage has increased by 80.4% over the past five years.
These numbers are referred to as the Estimated Resident Population (ERP). The census data gives a picture of the cultures and languages that make up Australia by giving statistics on cultural diversity, place of birth, ancestry, and home languages.
According to the 2021 census, over half of Australian citizens have a parent who was born overseas (48.2 percent), and the population continues to be drawn from across the world, with 27.6 percent of the population reporting a birthplace outside of Australia. Since 2017, Australia has welcomed over one million new residents into the country.
India had the biggest rise in birthplaces outside of Australia, with 2,17,963 extra people recorded. India has surpassed China and New Zealand to become the third biggest country for births, next to Australia and the United Kingdom. The second largest increase in country of birth was Nepal, with a gain of 67,752 individuals; this means that the Nepali-born population has more than doubled since 2016.
More than 5.5 million individuals now speak a language other than English at home, an increase of 7,92,062 since 2016. Mandarin continues to be the most widely spoken non-English language at home, with 685,274 speakers, followed by Arabic with 385,159 speakers.
The 2021 census revealed that more than 239,000 individuals spoke Punjabi at home, an increase of 80.4% since 2016. According to Surya Prakash Soni, President of the Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria, Australia, the number of Indian immigrants to Australia has grown in recent years. He said, “As per the latest Australian census, the demography of this country is rapidly changing and it is becoming multicultural”.
