Migrant characteristics
Summary of findings for LSIA 3
For the Family and Skill stream overall, 55 per cent of those surveyed in LSIA 3 were female and 45 per cent were male. This is a higher proportion of females than previous LSIAs – 43 per cent female in LSIA 1 and 48 per cent female in LSIA 2.
Female Primary Applicants outnumbered male Primary Applicants in the all Family stream categories:
- Onshore Spouse and other family (67 per cent to 33 per cent)
- Offshore spouses and fiancés (63 per cent to 37 per cent)
- Offshore other family (52 per cent to 48 per cent)
Males outnumbered females in all Skill stream categories:
- Offshore Business/ENS/RSMS (80 per cent to 20 per cent)
- Onshore Business/ENS/RSMS (67 per cent to 33 per cent)
- Offshore Independent (62 per cent to 38 per cent)
- Former Overseas Student (55 per cent to 45 per cent)
- Offshore Australian Sponsored (51 per cent to 49 per cent)
- Skilled Designated Area Sponsored (52 per cent to 48 per cent)
Females also outnumbered males by almost two to one in the under 26 year age group.
The average age of PAs regardless of LSIA was around 34 years of age. Average ages varied significantly among the different migrant groups however. For instance the average age of Former Overseas Student PAs in LSIA 3 was only 27, compared with 41 for Business/RSMS/ENS PAs.
Selected survey characteristics at wave 1
| Characteristics | LSIA 1 | LSIA 2 | LSIA 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender of PAs | |||
| Females | 49% | 50% | 55% |
| Males | 51% | 50% | 45% |
| Birthplace of PAs | |||
| Mainly English speaking countries | 24% | 25% | 22% |
| Non English speaking countries | 76% | 75% | 78% |
| Migration stream | |||
| Family | 56% | 67% | 60% |
| Skill | 44% | 33% | 40% |
| Median age | |||
| Family stream | 33.0 | 34.2 | 34.5 |
| Skill stream | 34.7 | 33.5 | 32.4 |
Source: Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia
The most common migrating units in LSIA 3 were:
- Family stream single migrants without dependent children (46 per cent)
- Skill stream single migrants without dependent children (26 per cent)
- Skill stream couples with dependent children (12 per cent)
The most common source countries for LSIA 3 (in order) were China, the United Kingdom and India. Between them, these countries accounted for almost one-third of those surveyed. Among the other major source countries, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam had high proportions of family migrants. Indonesia, Malaysia and South Africa provided a high percentage of migrants from the Skill stream.
Only 18 per cent of those surveyed came from a mainly English speaking country – ie UK, Canada, South Africa, Ireland or USA. People from these countries were most evident in the Onshore and Offshore Business/ENS/RSMS categories (47 per cent and 41 per cent respectively). In contrast only two per cent of former overseas students were from these countries.
Tables and charts for LSIA 3
There are six tables and charts available in PDF format:
See: Using PDF Files
- Gender by age (9KB PDF file)
- Age by visa category (10KB PDF file)
- Region of origin (12KB PDF file)
- Top 10 birthplaces by stream (13KB PDF file)
- Composition of migrating units (17KB PDF file)
- Migrating unit characteristics (10KB PDF file)