Zimbabwean Australian

Zimbabweans in Australia
Total population
30,252
Regions with significant populations
Perth · Sydney · Melbourne
Languages
English · Shona · Ndebele · Afrikaans · Nyanja
Related ethnic groups
African Australian

Zimbabwean Australians are Australian citizens of Zimbabwean ancestry or Zimbabwe-born people who reside in Australia. They include migrants to Australia of people from Zimbabwe (Rhodesia until 1980), as well as their descendants. Today, over 30,000 people in Australia were born in Zimbabwe, while many more have Zimbabwean ancestry.[1]

Background

The number of permanent settlers arriving in Australia from Zimbabwe since 1991 (monthly)

The Zimbabwean population in Australia has been changing rapidly. The 2006 Australian Census registered 20,157 Zimbabwe-born living in Australia. The 2011 Census noted there are 30,252 Zimbabwe-born people.[2] The vast majority are skilled and educated, with 74.5% of the Zimbabwe-born aged 15 years and over possessing higher non-school qualifications, compared to 55.9% of the Australian population.[3]

Population distribution

Almost a third of Zimbabweans in Australia reside in Perth, whereas about a fifth reside in Sydney.[4] Many white Zimbabweans have settled in Queensland,[5] whereas people of indigenous Shona and Ndebele ethnicities commonly settle in Sydney or Melbourne.[6]

Language

New South Wales

Australians who speak a language indigenous to Zimbabwe at home are most numerous in Sydney. One in three of Australia's Ndebele-speakers and one in three of Australia's Shona-speakers live in Sydney.[7][8]

Victoria

English, Shona and Afrikaans are the main languages Zimbabwean Australians in Victoria speak at home. 53% of Zimbawean Australians in Victoria speak English, while 36% speak Shona and 1% speak Afrikaans.[9]

Notable Zimbabwean Australians

References

  1. ↑ "The Zimbabwe-born Community". Department of Social Services.
  2. ↑ "The Zimbabwe-born Community". Department of Social Services.
  3. ↑ "The Zimbabwe-born Community". Department of Social Services.
  4. ↑ "The Zimbabwe-born Community". Department of Social Services.
  5. ↑ "White Zimbabwean families make their way to country Qld". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  6. ↑ "The Zimbabwe-born Community". Department of Social Services.
  7. ↑ "Languages in Sydney". Australian Burea of Statistics.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ "History of immigration from Zimbabwe". Museum Victoria.