The 2016 census provided by the Bureau of Statistic has revealed the multicultural makeup of Sydney’s suburbs. The data has shown that there is no Sydney suburb where no-one is born overseas save for Wheeny Creek: a suburb 86 kilometres north-west of the Sydney CBD with a population of only 21.
The data confirms Sydney as the most multicultural capital city in Australia with almost 4 out of every 10 Sydneysiders born overseas. This is about 10% greater than the national average. 83% of those born overseas live in capital cities with 1.78 million living in Sydney followed by Melbourne at 1.52 million.
Although suburbs with more than half its population born overseas were found all throughout Sydney, most were concentrated near the CBD. Haymarket near the city had the highest percentage at 90.3% of residents born overseas followed by the CBD at 80.3%, Rhodes at 80.1% and Ultimo at 79.9%. Conversely, suburbs near the outward areas tended to show a higher percentage of residents born in Australia such as Glossodia in the Blue Mountains at 8.9%, Mannering Park at 9% and Warragamba at 11.5.
The census found that in Sydney, the largest country of origin for those born overseas was China with nearly 5% of all Sydneysiders having been born there. This was followed by England at 3.1%, India at 2.7%, New Zealand at 1.8% and Vietnam at 1.7. The range of countries from which people originate from demonstrates the multiculturalism of Sydney and solidifies Sydney as the most multicultural city in Australia.
Australia wide, the number of overseas-born people has increased by almost 1 million between the 2011 and 2016 census. It also found that 1 in 5 of the 6.16 million overseas-born Australian residents have arrived since the beginning of 2012, highlighting the increasing diversity of the country.
As Australia and Sydney continues to attract people from all over the world, the need to connect and engage with multicultural communities has never been more necessary.