South African Australians

South African Australians (Afrikaans: Suid-Afrikaanse Australiërs) are citizens or residents of Australia who are of South African descent.

South African Australians
Total population
53,747 (by ancestry, 2021)[1]
(4.4% of the Australian population)[1]
189,207 (by birth, 2021)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Sydney39,564
Perth38,793
Melbourne27,056
Brisbane26,918
Adelaide6,983
Languages

According to the 2021 Australian census, 189,207 Australian residents were born in South Africa, making up 0.7% of the country's population. In addition, 53,747 people born in Australia claim South African ancestry, making up 0.3% of the total population. A strong majority of South African Australians are Australian citizens, with 76% possessing Australian citizenship. In the same 2021 census, 144,666 Australian residents claimed "South African" ancestry while another 6,153 stated their ancestry as "Afrikaner" and 501 as "Zulu".[2]

According to the 2016 Australian census, most South African-born Australians were native English-speakers (118,147) while a large minority spoke Afrikaans at home (38,415).[3] By 2021, the number of Australian residents who spoke Afrikaans at home increased to 49,375. Afrikaners are particularly concentrated in greater Perth. While 0.2% of Australian residents in 2021 spoke Afrikaans at home, 0.6% of the residents of greater Perth (11,870) did.[4] Other official languages of South Africa spoken in Australia are Ndebele (1676), Zulu (652), Tswana (559), and Xhosa (152).[5]

People with South African ancestry as a percentage of the population in Sydney divided geographically by postal area, 2011

Immigration from South Africa to Australia, particularly by professionals, accelerated in the 1990s. More than half of the South African Australians arrived following the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994.[6] A behaviour stigmatised by white South Africans who remained in their homeland as "Packing for Perth" ("PFP") was also a humorous dig and reference to supporters of the Progressive Federal Party – a political party formed in 1977 that drew support mainly from liberal English-speaking white people.[7] As per 2021 census, 60% of Australians who are born in South Africa, claimed English, Dutch , German and Scottish ancestry, while only 40% claimed "South African" as an ancestry.

The number of permanent settlers arriving in Australia from South Africa since 1991 (monthly)

Notable people

See also

References
  1. Community profile 2021 abs.gov.au
  2. "Cultural Diversity: Census". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  3. "South Africa-born Community Information Summary" (PDF). Australian Government. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  4. "Australia: Birthplace". .id informed decisions. .id consulting pty ltd. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  5. "Cultural Diversity: Census". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  6. The African migrants who fear a lower standard of living Sydney Morning Herald
  7. Kaplan, David (3 October 2019). "Packing for Perth: Skills flight is a reality, and we must plan for it". The Daily Maverick. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  8. Kembrey, Melanie (9 August 2018). "Sisonke Msimang interview: 'The dream of freedom was a sort of home for us'". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
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