More than 30 percent of Australia’s residents are born overseas, with India representing the largest number of immigrants in 2025, overtaking England for the first time.
The latest statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows there were 8.8 million residents born overseas (or 32 percent), compared to 18.8 million people born in Australia.
The proportion of overseas-born people in Australia is approaching the highest on record, not seen since 1891 when the figure was 32.4 percent.
Generally more people migrate to Australia than migrate away, and the overseas-born population has been growing at a faster rate than the Australian-born population since the beginning of post-World War II migration.
The top most common countries for overseas born residents are India (971,020 people), England (970,950), China (732,000), New Zealand (638,000), the Philippines (413,000), Vietnam (327,000), South Africa (230,000), Nepal (214,000), Sri Lanka (185,000), and Malaysia (184,000).
In 2025, Indian-born immigrants recorded the largest increase since 2015, when there were 522,000 people.
The mix is different according to state, with the top three immigrant nations to Queensland coming from New Zealand, England, and India; in New South Wales it’s China, England and India; and in Victoria it’s India, China, and England.
The largest decrease in population since 2015 were people born in Italy and England, with both groups having a median age of 60 or over – reflecting the high levels of migration to Australia after World War II.
The median age for the overseas born population was 43 years, compared to a younger Australian-born population at 35 years.
People born in Latvia were the oldest population group in Australia – with a median age of 80, while the youngest were people born in Qatar – with a median age of 15.
