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About Sydney and NSW > People, skills and education

Settler Arrivals

One of Australia's greatest strengths is its cultural diversity. In 2006-07, 56% of Australia's population growth came from net overseas migration. Of all migrants in 2006-07, 31% indicated that New South Wales was their intended State of residence.

New South Wales attracts particularly large numbers of Asian migrants, with 38% of Asian settler arrivals in Australia in 2006-07 choosing to live in the State. Over the same period, 50% of all settler arrivals in New South Wales were born in Asia.

New South Wales also attracts significant numbers of settlers from the Middle East and North Africa, while traditional sources such as New Zealand, the United Kingdom and South Africa remain strong.


Settler Arrivals by Birthplace and State of Intended Residence, 2006-07 (1)

Region of Birth NSW VIC QLD SA WA Other States/ Territories (2) Australia NSW as % of total
South East Asia: 6,197 6,353 2,379 1,134 2,816 590 19,469 32
Indonesia 736 376 157 59 307 69 1,704 43
Malaysia 573 1,111 278 183 702 52 2,899 20
Philippines 2,086 1,644 923 343 345 220 5,561 38
Singapore 279 482 159 116 582 40 1,658 17
Thailand 631 542 330 93 322 71 1,989 32
Vietnam 1,186 1,208 269 193 228 51 3,135 38
Other 706 990 263 147 330 87 2,523 28
 
North East Asia: 7,345 4,907 1,784 1,504 746 330 16,616 44
China  5,450 3,976 786 1,078 477 242 12,009 45
Hong Kong SAR 437 287 129 50 77 15 995 44
Japan 213 165 252 64 92 25 811 26
Korea 1,074 331 309 264 80 34 2,092 51
Taiwan 158 137 303 46 14 13 671 24
Other 13 11 5 2 6 1 38 34
 
Southern Asia: 7,482 7,042 1,258 1,645 1,195 417 19,039 39
India 5,250 4,826 903 1,416 853 248 13,496 39
Other 2,232 2,216 355 229 342 169 5,543 40
 
Middle East and North Africa (3) 4,485 3,044 733 480 774 174 9,690 46
 
Other: 18,326 13,352 22,486 5,298 14,252 1,620 75,334 26
New Zealand 5,240 4,178 11,278 397 2,516 297 23,906 22
United States 546 340 402 89 174 70 1,621 34
United Kingdom 4,192 169 5,569 2,535 7,286 3,472 23,223 18
South Africa 848 502 1,185 290 1,101 70 3,996 21
Other (4) 7,500 8,163 4,052 1,987 3,175 -2,289 22,588 33
 
Total settlers 43,835 34,698 28,640 10,061 19,783 3,131 140,148 31


Footnotes:
1: Settler, or permanent, arrivals comprise persons arriving in Australia who hold permanent visas, regardless of stated intended period of stay, New Zealand citizens who indicate an intention to settle, and those who are otherwise eligible to settle (e.g. overseas-born children of Australian citizens). Settler arrivals do not represent a net increase in resident population, as they do not take account of permanent departures over the corresponding period. Settler arrivals data are based on the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs' Travel and Immigration Processing System (TRIPS) and supplemented by Incoming Passenger Card information completed by persons arriving in Australia.
2: Includes Territory of Christmas Island, Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Jervis Bay.
3: Includes Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria and Turkey
4: The largest contributions to New South Wales in this category came from Fiji, Afghanistan, Ireland and Sierra Leone.

Source: Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Immigration Update 2006-07