Group: | Bangladeshi Australians |
Native Name: | অস্ট্রেলীয় বাংলাদেশী |
Population: | ~51,002/.19% - 77,000/.29%(sources vary) |
Total Year: | 2023 |
Regions: | New South WalesVictoriaQueenslandWestern Australia |
Languages: | Australian EnglishBangladeshi EnglishBengali |
Religions: | 84.1% Muslim 7.1% Hinduism 5.2% No religion 1.5% Catholic[1] |
Related: | Asian AustraliansBangladeshi diaspora |
Footnotes: | Includes not answer (3.4%) and not stated (1.8%) |
Bangladeshi Australians (Bengali: অস্ট্রেলীয় বাংলাদেশী) refers to Australian citizens or residents who have full or partial Bangladeshi heritage or people who emigrated from Bangladesh and reside in Australia.[2] There are around 51,491 people born in Bangladesh living in Australia, according to the census in 2021. Additionally, there is a significant number of Bangladeshi descent Australians (born in Australia), but their numbers are uncertain. The largest Bangladeshi communities are mainly present in the states of New South Wales and Victoria, with large concentrations in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne.
Bangladeshis are relatively new migrants to Australia. After the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, migration has steadily increased with the majority arriving under the Skilled Migration Program. Most Bangladesh-born have settled in the urban areas of New South Wales while smaller numbers settled in other states and territories.
In the late 1990s, 2000s and early 2010s many Bangladeshis moved to less expensive suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne, namely Lakemba, Rockdale, and Eastlakes. More recently, there has been a shift to affordable suburbs farther from CBDs with larger houses, such as Macquarie Fields, Tarneit, Minto and Ingleburn.
The latest census in 2021 recorded 51,491 Bangladesh-born people in Australia, an increase from the 2016 census which recorded 41,233. A total of 53.5% were male and 46.5% were female, while 67% overall were Australian citizens. A total of 68.4% of Bangladeshi-Australians aged 15 or above had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, higher than the national average of 26.3%. A total of 84.2% recorded Islam as their religious affiliation, while 7.1% recorded Hinduism. The median household income was $1,940, higher than the national median of $1,746.