Cohort demographics

Throughout this report comparisons are made between the humanitarian entrant cohort, other permanent migrants and the rest of the Australian population. Each of these cohorts differ in their demographics. 

Among the humanitarian entrant population, 50% are males, compared with 47% males in the other permanent migrants and 50% males in the rest of the Australian population. The median ages among the cohorts were 32 for humanitarian entrants, 38 for other permanent migrants and 42 for the rest of the Australian population. The age profile of the three cohorts also differs (Figure 1.1). The proportion of the humanitarian entrant cohort in the younger age groups is high, peaking at 23% of the population in the 20–29 age group. Whereas the other permanent migrants' cohort is slightly older with the highest proportion of their population belonging to the 30–39 age group. The rest of the Australian population has a flatter age structure with a larger proportion of the population in the older age groups over 50.

The following data visualisation (Figure 1.1) provides a column chart and data table, which can be accessed by using the tabs (top left-hand side).

Figure 1.1: Proportion of population groups in 10-year age groups, 2021

The humanitarian entrant population is generally younger, peaking at 20-29 years, whereas the other migrant population peaks at 30-39.

Many health outcomes can be more common in older age groups, therefore when comparing outcomes between cohorts with different age structures, it is important to take age into account. Throughout this report, age-standardisation has been used to make comparisons among the different cohorts.

For more information on age-standardisation and the methods used in this report, see the Technical notes.

References

Person-Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA), 2021, PLIDA Modular Product, ABS DataLab. Findings based on use of PLIDA data.