Employed persons by country of birth

Around 1.1 million, or almost 31%, of New South Wales' workers are born overseas, compared with 28% for the rest of Australia. While New South Wales accounts for more than 31% of Australia's total employment, it contributes 33% of the nation's overseas born workforce. This positions New South Wales ahead of other states, and at the forefront of the Asia Pacific, for its ability to provide a large, diverse, well-educated and multilingual workforce.

The United Kingdom and Ireland contribute the highest proportion of New South Wales workers born outside Australia, accounting for 17% of all overseas born workers in the State. China (8%), New Zealand (7%) and India (7%) account for the next largest shares. In terms of regions, North West Europe is the major source of overseas born workers in New South Wales with 21%, followed by South East Asia (16%), and North East Asia (14%).

Employed Persons by Country of Birth, 2013¹ ('000)

Country of Birth2	NSW	VIC	QLD	SA
Australia	2,495.2	2,022.4	1,728.1	624.6
Born overseas	1,098.9	834.2	579.3	181.0
Oceania and Antarctica	110.2	84.6	163.4	11.1
New Zealand	75.5	69.4	137.1	9.5
Other	34.7	15.2	26.3	1.6
North West Europe	229.6	171.0	162.5	77.6
United Kingdom and Ireland	189.3	136.4	128.6	66.1
Germany	14.3	13.2	10.9	5.3
Netherlands	7.9	8.4	6.5	2.5
Other	18.1	13.0	16.5	3.7
Southern and Eastern Europe	106.6	108.3	24.5	19.1
Italy	22.2	20.3	4.8	4.7
Greece	8.7	13.6	1.9	2.5
Former Yugoslav Republic	35.7	29.9	7.4	4.1
Other	40.0	44.5	10.4	7.7
North Africa and the Middle East	74.5	41.4	7.0	3.8
Lebanon	22.3	10.3	0.7	0.4
Other	52.2	31.1	6.2	3.5
South East Asia	180.0	135.4	56.9	23.3
Vietnam	39.8	45.0	9.4	7.7
Malaysia	24.8	31.7	7.9	4.6
Philippines	60.9	25.2	24.3	5.4
Other	54.5	33.6	15.4	5.6
North East Asia	156.4	83.2	46.7	12.0
China	92.5	58.5	18.5	7.5
Other	63.8	24.6	28.2	4.6
Southern and Central Asia	136.7	135.5	45.2	19.9
India	72.1	85.7	28.9	14.6
Other	64.5	49.9	16.3	5.3
Americas	55.5	33.7	28.8	5.9
Sub-Saharan Africa	49.5	41.2	44.4	8.2
Other	1.2	0.5	0.4	0.0
Total employed	3,595.3	2,857.1	2,307.8	805.6

Employed Persons by Country of Birth, 2013¹ ('000) (cont'd)

Country of Birth2	WA	Other	Australia	NSW as a % of Aust
Australia	825.8	455.3	8,151.5	30.6
Born overseas	502.3	115.4	3,311.2	33.2
Oceania and Antarctica	69.6	12.7	451.7	24.4
New Zealand	66.5	10.0	368.1	20.5
Other	3.1	2.7	83.6	41.5
North West Europe	196.9	36.7	874.2	26.3
United Kingdom and Ireland	173.9	29.5	723.9	26.1
Germany	8.0	2.5	54.3	26.4
Netherlands	4.6	1.6	31.4	25.1
Other	10.4	3.0	64.6	28.0
Southern and Eastern Europe	29.1	7.9	295.5	36.1
Italy	6.1	1.8	59.9	37.1
Greece	0.6	1.1	28.4	30.7
Former Yugoslav Republic	10.4	1.9	89.4	39.9
Other	12.1	3.1	117.8	33.9
North Africa and the Middle East	8.7	2.2	137.6	54.2
Lebanon	0.6	0.4	34.6	64.3
Other	8.1	1.8	102.9	50.8
South East Asia	62.6	17.5	475.7	37.8
Vietnam	7.5	2.8	112.1	35.5
Malaysia	17.7	3.1	89.9	27.7
Philippines	12.9	6.3	134.9	45.1
Other	24.5	5.3	138.8	39.3
North East Asia	22.1	10.5	330.9	47.3
China	11.6	6.8	195.5	47.3
Other	10.5	3.7	135.4	47.2
Southern and Central Asia	41.4	12.7	391.4	34.9
India	28.1	7.6	237.0	30.4
Other	13.3	5.1	154.4	41.8
Americas	19.9	8.1	151.8	36.6
Sub-Saharan Africa	52.1	7.1	202.5	24.4
Other	0.4	0.2	2.6	45.7
Total employed	1,328.6	571.0	11,465.3	31.4