Appendix D: Populations used for country/region of birth report

Standard populations

Table D.1 provides the standard populations used for this report. The World Health Organisation (WHO) World Standard population is used in the summary report but rates for both sets of standard populations are available in the cancer incidence by country and region of birth data visualisation and Excel workbook in the Data section. Rates standardised to the world population are not comparable with rates standardised to the Australian population.

Table D.1: World Standard Population, World Health Organisation 2000–2025 and Australian Standard Population, 2001

Age Group

World (WHO 2000–2025) Standard1 Count

World (WHO 2000–2025) Standard1 Per cent

Australian Standard 20012Count

Australian Standard 20012 Per cent

0–4

88,569

8.86

1,282,357

6.61

5–9

86,870

8.69

1,351,664

6.96

10–14

85,970

8.6

1,353,177

6.97

15–19

84,670

8.47

1,352,745

6.97

20–24

82,171

8.22

1,302,412

6.71

25–29

79,272

7.93

1,407,081

7.25

30–34

76,073

7.61

1,466,615

7.55

35–39

71,475

7.15

1,492,204

7.69

40–44

65,877

6.59

1,479,257

7.62

45–49

60,379

6.04

1,358,594

7.00

50–54

53,681

5.37

1,300,777

6.70

55–59

45,484

4.55

1,008,799

5.20

60–64

37,187

3.72

822,024

4.23

65–69

29,590

2.96

682,513

3.52

70–74

22,092

2.21

638,380

3.29

75+

30,640

3.06

1,114,641

5.74

Total

1,000,000

100.00

19,413,240 

100.00

Sources:

  1. National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program
  2. Australia Bureau of Statistics

Australia's population by country of birth

Australia's population estimates by country of birth are compiled annually as at 30 June. These estimates, produced by single year of age and sex, classify the population according to country of birth (ABS 2024).

The average annual population in Australia (that is all countries of birth) increased by 17% between the 2006–2010 and 2016–2020 periods. Around 49.8% of the increase is attributable to the Australia-born population and 50.2% due to the overseas-born population.

The proportion of people born overseas and living in Australia increased from 26% in 2006–2010 to 29% in 2016–2020. The size of the annual average population born overseas increased by 34% between the 2006–2010 and 2016–2020 periods. (Table D.2)

Table D.2: Average annual Australian population by country of birth: 2006–2020

Country of Birth

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Australia

15,779,664

16,710,794

17,621,768

16,704,075

Born overseas

5,470,830

6,387,996

7,324,524

6,394,450

All countries of birth

21,250,494

23,098,662

24,946,168

23,098,441

Region of birth population profiles

The Standard Australian Classification of Countries, 2016 is used to identify the country of birth and to group countries into regions of birth. The average annual population per year of people living in Australia born in each region of birth in each time period, and the proportion from each country within that region is provided in Tables D.3-D.24

Table D.3: Average annual Australian population born in New Zealand, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

New Zealand

480,358

571,612

577,050

543,007

Table D.4: Average annual Australian population born in Melanesia, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Melanesia

33,162

37,244

40,174

36,860

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

New Caledonia

4.0

4.0

3.9

4.0

Papua New Guinea

86.7

86.5

84.8

86.0

Solomon Islands

5.5

5.8

6.3

5.9

Vanuatu

3.7

3.7

5.0

4.2

Table D.5: Average annual Australian population born in Polynesia, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Polynesia

96,300

115,828

130,586

114,238

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Cook Islands

6.3

6.5

6.2

6.3

Fiji

62.4

59.8

57.5

59.6

French Polynesia

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.4

Niue

0.7

0.8

0.7

0.7

Samoa

19.4

21.7

24.1

22.0

Samoa, American

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.3

Tokelau

0.5

0.6

0.5

0.5

Tonga

9.7

9.7

10.0

9.8

Tuvalu

0.1

0.2

0.2

0.2

Wallis and Futuna

0

0

0

0

Pitcairn Islands

0

0

0

0

Polynesia (excludes Hawaii), nec

0

0

0

0

Note: Percentages of 0 include where the country has people living in Australia but it is less than 0.5 percent and rounded to 0.

Table D.6: Average annual Australian population born in United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

United Kingdom

1,164,678

1,210,600

1,189,712

1,188,330

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

England

82.9

83.0

83.6

83.2

Isle of Man 

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Northern Ireland 

2.1

2.3

2.2

2.2

Scotland 

12.0

11.7

11.3

11.6

Wales

2.8

2.8

2.7

2.8

Guernsey

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Jersey

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Table D.7: Average annual Australian population born in Ireland, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Ireland

63,278

90,136

87,648

80,354

Table D.8: Average annual Australian population born in Western Europe, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Western Europe

282,318

280,972

267,044

276,778

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Austria

7.3

6.7

6.2

6.8

Belgium

2.2

2.5

2.9

2.5

France

8.9

11.9

14.6

11.8

Germany

44.6

43.7

42.6

43.6

Liechtenstein

0

0

0

0

Luxembourg

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Monaco

0

0

0

0

Netherlands

32.0

30.0

28.3

30.1

Switzerland

4.9

5.1

5.3

5.1

Note: Percentages of 0 include where the country has people living in Australia but it is less than 0.5 percent and rounded to 0.

Table D.9: Average annual Australian population born in Northern Europe, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Northern Europe

34,796

36,012

35,396

35,401

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Denmark

30.5

29.2

28.0

29.2

Faroe Islands

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Finland

27.5

26.0

25.1

26.2

Greenland

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Iceland

2.0

1.8

1.5

1.8

Norway

12.5

12.3

12.1

12.3

Sweden

27.3

30.5

33.1

30.3

Aland Islands

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.1

Table D.10: Average annual Australian population born in Southern Europe, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Southern Europe

294,892

282,540

264,672

280,701

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Andorra

0

0

0

0

Gibraltar

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.2

Holy See

0

0

0

0

Italy

71.7

70.9

70.0

70.9

Malta

16.9

16.3

15.6

16.3

Portugal

6.2

6.7

7.1

6.7

San Marino

0

0

0

0

Spain

5.0

5.9

7.1

6.0

Note: Percentages of 0 include where the country has people living in Australia but it is less than 0.5 percent and rounded to 0.

Table D.11: Average annual Australian population born in South Eastern Europe, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

South Eastern Europe 

379,484

364,152

339,854

361,163

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Albania

0.7

0.9

1.1

0.9

Bosnia and Herzegovina

10.6

10.5

10.2

10.4

Bulgaria

0.9

1.0

1.2

1.1

Croatia

18.5

17.8

16.9

17.8

Cyprus

5.8

5.7

5.6

5.7

North Macedonia

13.6

13.9

14.9

14.1

Greece

33.1

32.7

31.9

32.6

Moldova

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.3

Romania

4.3

4.7

5.0

4.6

Slovenia

2.3

2.2

2.2

2.2

Serbia and Montenegro

9.9

10.0

10.2

10.0

Kosovo

0.1

0.4

0.5

0.3

Table D.12: Average annual Australian population born in Eastern Europe, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Eastern Europe

152,874

151,760

150,352

151,662

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Belarus

1.2

1.3

1.6

1.4

Czech Republic

9.0

8.8

8.3

8.7

Estonia

1.2

2.0

2.4

1.9

Hungary

15.3

14.4

13.2

14.3

Latvia

3.8

3.5

2.9

3.4

Lithuania

2.0

2.1

2.3

2.2

Poland

39.8

37.0

34.8

37.2

Russian Federation

12.8

15.6

18.4

15.6

Slovakia

3.9

4.2

4.6

4.2

Ukraine

10.9

11.0

11.5

11.1

Table D.13: Average annual Australian population born in North Africa, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

North Africa

69,972

76,972

81,920

76,288

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Algeria

1.9

2.0

2.0

2.0

Egypt

58.2

56.5

56.6

57.1

Libya

2.7

3.7

3.5

3.3

Morocco

2.4

2.6

3.0

2.7

Sudan

33.9

27.1

23.2

27.8

Tunisia

0.8

0.8

0.9

0.8

Western Sahara

0

0

0

0

Spanish North Africa

0

0

0

0

South Sudan

0

7.3

10.8

6.3

Note: Percentages of 0 include where the country has people living in Australia but it is less than 0.5 percent and rounded to 0.

Table D.14: Average annual Australian population born in Middle East, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Middle East

251,160

306,882

384,844

314,295

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Bahrain

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

Gaza Strip and West Bank

1.3

1.0

0.8

1.0

Iran

12.8

16.7

18.6

16.4

Iraq

18.1

20.3

23.0

20.8

Israel

4.0

3.6

3.1

3.5

Jordan

1.9

2.0

2.0

2.0

Kuwait

1.5

1.9

1.9

1.8

Lebanon

35.1

29.9

24.5

29.1

Oman

0.5

0.4

0.5

0.5

Qatar

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.3

Saudi Arabia

3.2

4.3

3.8

3.8

Syria

3.5

3.7

6.8

4.9

Türkiye

15.5

13.0

10.7

12.7

United Arab Emirates

1.7

2.2

3.0

2.4

Yemen

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.2

Table D.15: Average annual Australian population born in Mainland South-East Asia, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Mainland South-East Asia

293,016

352,374

428,212

357,867

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Myanmar 

6.4

8.1

8.8

7.9

Cambodia

10.2

9.5

8.9

9.5

Laos

3.7

3.2

2.6

3.1

Thailand

14.7

16.6

18.9

17.0

Vietnam

65.0

62.7

60.7

62.5

Table D.16: Average annual Australian population born in Maritime South-East Asia, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Maritime South-East Asia

409,718

502,686

612,158

508,187

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Brunei Darussalam

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.6

Indonesia

16.0

14.9

14.2

14.9

Malaysia

28.8

27.5

27.7

28.0

Philippines

39.8

43.3

45.7

43.3

Singapore

12.1

11.6

10.3

11.2

Timor-Leste

2.6

2.0

1.6

2.0

Table D.17: Average annual Australian population born in Chinese Asia, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Chinese Asia (includes Mongolia)

426,622

578,476

786,446

597,181

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

China (Excludes SARS and Taiwan)

73.1

76.1

79.0

76.7

Hong Kong (SAR of China) 

19.5

15.6

12.8

15.3

Macau (SAR of China)

0.5

0.5

0.4

0.4

Mongolia

0.1

0.2

0.6

0.4

Taiwan

6.7

7.6

7.2

7.2

Table D.18: Average annual Australian population born in Japan and the Koreas, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Japan and the Koreas

110,764

141,612

164,312

138,896

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Japan

34.7

31.5

30.3

b

Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (North)

0.3

0.1

0.1

0.2

Korea, Republic of (South)

65.0

68.3

69.6

67.9

Table D.19: Average annual Australian population born in Southern Asia, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Southern Asia

403,070

623,020

975,966

667,352

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Bangladesh

6.0

6.0

5.2

5.6

Bhutan

0.2

0.7

1.0

0.7

India

62.6

62.0

61.7

62.0

Maldives

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Nepal

3.9

6.0

9.8

7.4

Pakistan

6.0

7.6

8.6

7.8

Sri Lanka

21.2

17.7

13.6

16.4

Table D.20: Average annual Australian population born in Central Asia, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Central Asia

30,970

47,088

66,546

48,201

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Afghanistan

85.4

86.4

87.7

86.8

Armenia

3.8

2.8

2.2

2.8

Azerbaijan

1.1

1.2

1.1

1.1

Georgia

1.5

1.2

1.1

1.2

Kazakhstan

3.1

3.5

3.4

3.4

Kyrgyzstan

1.0

0.9

0.9

0.9

Tajikistan

0.3

0.3

0.3

0.3

Turkmenistan

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.2

Uzbekistan

3.6

3.4

3.2

3.4

Table D.21: Average annual Australian population born in North America, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Northern America

122,390

149,320

165,560

145,757

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Bermuda

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.4

Canada

33.9

33.3

33.3

33.5

St Pierre and Miquelon

0

0

0

0

United States of America

65.7

66.3

66.3

66.1

Table D.22: Average annual Australian population born in South America, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

South America

89,406

112,480

161,490

121,125

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Argentina

15.2

13.0

11.0

12.6

Bolivia

0.9

0.9

0.7

0.8

Brazil

14.6

19.0

28.0

21.9

Chile

31.1

26.1

20.1

24.7

Colombia

10.5

14.6

19.3

15.6

Ecuador

2.0

2.1

1.7

1.9

Falkland Islands

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

French Guiana

0

0

0

0

Guyana

0.7

0.6

0.4

0.5

Paraguay

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.4

Peru

9.5

9.4

7.5

8.6

Suriname

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Uruguay

12.1

9.4

6.5

8.8

Venezuela

2.8

4.3

4.3

3.9

South America, nec

0

0

0

0

Table D.23: Average annual Australian population born in Southern and East Africa, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Southern and East Africa

242,552

303,648

347,142

297,781

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Angola

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.2

Botswana

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.4

Burundi

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.7

Comoros

0

0

0

0

Djibouti

0.1

0.1

0.1

b

Eritrea

1.1

1.3

1.6

1.4

Eswatini0.10.10.10.1

Ethiopia

3.1

3.7

4.3

3.8

Kenya

5.6

5.8

6.7

6.1

Lesotho

0

0

0

0

Madagascar

0.1

0.1

0.1

b

Malawi

0.4

0.4

0.5

0.4

Mauritius

9.9

9.1

8.5

9.1

Mayotte

0

0

0

0

Mozambique

0.3

0.3

0.3

0.3

Namibia

0.4

0.4

0.5

0.4

Reunion

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Rwanda

0.2

0.3

0.3

0.3

St Helena

0

0

0

0

Seychelles

1.2

1.0

0.8

1.0

Somalia

2.2

2.5

2.7

2.5

South Africa

57.1

56.2

54.8

55.9

Tanzania

1.4

1.4

1.4

1.4

Uganda

1.0

1.1

1.2

1.1

Zambia

2.3

2.3

2.2

2.2

Zimbabwe

12.0

12.4

12.4

12.3

Southern and East Africa, nec

0

0

0

0

Note: Percentages of 0 include where the country has people living in Australia but it is less than 0.5 percent and rounded to 0.

Table D.24: Average annual Australian population born in Central and West Africa, by period: 2006–2020

Region/Country

2006–2010

2011–2015

2016–2020

2006–2020

Central and West Africa

16,780

26,938

38,380

27,366

Constituent countries

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Per cent

Benin

0.3

0.4

0.3

0.3

Burkina Faso

0.2

0.2

0.1

0.2

Cabo Verde

0.2

0.1

0.1

0.1

Cameroon

1.2

1.4

1.4

1.4

Central African Republic

0.1

0.1

0.2

0.1

Chad

0.3

0.3

0.2

0.2

Congo, Democratic Republic of

9.4

13.2

15.0

13.2

Congo, Republic of

5.0

5.2

5.2

5.2

Cote d'Ivoire

2.1

2.1

1.7

1.9

Equatorial Guinea

0.1

0.1

0.0

0.1

Gabon

0.2

0.1

0.1

0.2

Gambia

0.6

0.4

0.3

0.4

Ghana

21.9

19.2

17.8

19.1

Guinea

2.9

3.1

2.7

2.9

Guinea-Bissau

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Liberia

13.9

12.2

9.4

11.2

Mali

0.3

0.3

0.2

0.2

Mauritania

0.2

0.2

0.1

0.2

Niger

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Nigeria

22.1

24.4

32.1

27.6

Sao Tome and Principe

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Senegal

1.9

1.5

1.2

1.4

Sierra Leone

15.9

13.9

10.7

12.8

Togo

1.0

1.3

0.9

1.1

Note: Percentages of 0 include where the country has people living in Australia but it is less than 0.5 percent and rounded to 0.

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2024. Australia’s population by country of birth 2024. ABS: Canberra. Accessed 19 November 2024.

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