Demographics of Brisbane

Brisbane /ˈbrɪzbən/^[1] is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland,^[2] and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of 1.9 million,^[3] and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred on Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3 million.^[4] The Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River, approximately 15 kilometres (9 miles) from its mouth at Moreton Bay.^[5] The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River valley between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range. The metropolitan area sprawls across several of Australia's most populous local government areas, including the City of Brisbane, which is by far the most populous LGA in the nation. The demonym of Brisbane is Brisbanite.

Popoulation

As of the 2011 Australian Census, there were 1,977,315 people and 785,566 households residing within Brisbane Significant Urban Area. More than half the population of the state of Queensland lives in the Brisbane metropolitan area. The median income for a household in the city was $38,625 in 2001, and the median income for a family was $46,748. Males had a median income of $35,907 versus $30,536 for females. Below the poverty line were 19.6% of the population and 16.6% of the families.

The most common ancestries in Brisbane (Significant Urban Areas) were English 27.1%, Australian 25.4%, Irish 8.6%, Scottish 7.3% and German 4.3%. 69.8% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were New Zealand 4.9%, England 4.4%, India 1.1%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 1.1% and South Africa 1.0%. 81.6% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 1.6%, Vietnamese 1.0%, Cantonese 0.9%, Samoan 0.6% and Spanish 0.6%.

The main ethnic groups in Brisbane include English, Irish, Italian, Samoan, Maori, Arab, Jews, German, Bosnian, Croatian, Greek, Africans, Korean, Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Macedonian, Pakistani, Swedish, Russian, Serbian, Polish, Ukrainian, Dutch, Belgian, Papua New Guinean, Fijia and Salvadorian. Brisbane is also home to 6,000 natives of Iran (mostly Azerbaijani).

Brisbane has a large Irish Australian population, the early years of Brisbane coincided with the significant rise in Irish immigration in the 1830s and 1840s. Some Irish already lived in Brisbane when it was incorporated as a city in 1837. In the next few years Irish numbers grew rapidly, particularly after the arrival of refugees from the Great Famine. By 1850 Irish immigrants accounted for about one-fifth of the city's population. The Irish laid the foundations for many of the city's Roman Catholic churches, schools and hospitals. The Irish are still very active in the city's politics.

English people have constituted a major portion of ethnic whites in Brisbane since the beginning of the city's history.

The Brisbane Metropolitan area is becoming a major center for Indian Australians and South Asian Australians. Brisbane has the third largest South Asian Australians population in the country, after Sydney and Melbourne. The Chermside on Brisbane's north side is one of the largest South Asian neighborhoods in Oceania. Around 37,000 Arabs live in Brisbane, with the majority located in the suburban parts.

Brisbane's Italian community has historically been based in New Farm and Kedron in the inner-north of the city. There are also significant Italian populations scattered throughout the city and surrounding suburbs.

The first Yugoslavs settled in Brisbane in the early 20th centuries, joining other immigrants seeking better opportunities and better lives. As the former Yugoslavia continued to find its identity as a nation over the last century, the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina sought stability and new beginnings in the city of Brisbane many intending to return to their homeland. Bosnian Muslims were early leaders in the establishment of Brisbane’s Muslim community.

The Brisbane metropolitan area has the third largest rate of Africans, behind only Melbourne and Perth. Brisane has a small community of Swedish Australians. Swedish Australians make up 0.9% of Brisbane's population.

The city has a large population of Taiwanese, with a large population in Sunnyank & largest in Australia.

Indigenous Australians make up around 2% of the city's population

Religion

The most common responses for religion in Brisbane (Significant Urban Areas) were Catholic 24.3%, No Religion 22.9%, Anglican 16.9%, Uniting Church 5.9% and Presbyterian and Reformed 3.2%.

Median Age

The median age of people employed full-time in Brisbane (Significant Urban Areas) was 40 years and for people who were employed part-time was 37 years.

References