Brisbane Becoming More Multicultural
Media Release - DPS 14/96
A new report released today has found that while Brisbane is attracting more immigrants, the State of Queensland attracts fewer immigrants than many other parts of Australia.
The report also reveals that while Brisbane's population is becoming more multicultural, the rest of the state is becoming less ethnically diverse in contrast to a strong national trend.
Immigrants from non-English-speaking countries accounted for much of Brisbane's population growth between 1986 and 1991, yet Queensland as a whole attracts immigrants who are predominantly from English-speaking countries.
The Atlas of the Australian People - 1991 Census - Queensland was published by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and launched by Her Excellency Mrs Leneen Forde AC, Governor of Queensland.
Written by Professor Richard Jackson of the James Cook University of North Queensland, the report examines population movements in the five years between the 1986 and 1991 Censuses.
The report found that by 1991, for the first time, immigrants from non-English-speaking backgrounds outnumbered those from English-speaking countries.
The atlas analyses in detail the changing picture of first and second generation immigrants from more the 40 separate birthplaces, indigenous Australians and other culturally and ethnically defined groups in Australia.
It presents a comprehensive picture of the people of all areas of Queensland.
Queensland's population grew by 2.5 per cent per annum between 1986 and 1991, while the comparable figure for Australia was 1.5 per cent.
The majority of Queensland's growth came from people moving from other states (46%). Natural increase accounted for 32 per cent during that period.
A relatively small number of immigrants are choosing to settle in Queensland. Only 17 per cent of the state's population in 1991 was overseas-born, compared with 23 per cent for the rest of Australia.
Other interesting facts:
- Immigrants from non-English-speaking countries living in Queensland are more likely to be proficient in English than those living elsewhere in Australia. Only 9.3 per cent of people in Queensland use a language other than English at home, compared with the national average of 14.4 per cent.
- Long-established rural-based communities of immigrants from non-English-speaking countries are not being replenished as most immigrant arrivals to Queensland are settling in Brisbane.
The Atlas of the Australian People - 1991 Census - Queensland is the fifth in a series of State and Territory-based atlases commissioned by the Australian Population, Immigration and Multicultural Research Program, which is a joint initiative of the Commonwealth, States and Territories.
2 December 1996
Media inquiries: Professor Richard Jackson (077) 814 531 or (077) 815 262