South America
Latin Americans and Australian Visas
Australia has a vibrant and growing Latin American community. According to Wikipedia, “Brazilian Australians make up the largest proportion of Latin American Australians, followed by Chilean Australians and Salvadoran Australians. Most Latino Australians speak English but many continue to use Spanish or Portuguese as well.
“At the 2006 Census 86,156 Australian residents declared that they were born in South America (69,157), Central America (12,959) or the Caribbean (4,040).”
The 2011 census revealed that “Brazil became the largest source of immigrants from Latin America in Australia, with a total of 14,509 Brazil-born people living in the country.” Source: Wikipedia.
Wikipedia further reports that “Sydney is home to the largest proportion of Latin American Australians – 66% of Uruguay-born, 62% of Peru-born, 47% each of Chile-born and Colombia-born, and 42% of Brazilian-born respondents at the 2006 Census were residing in Sydney. Persons from El Salvador however have different settlement patterns – only 18% were residing in Sydney, while 32% were in Melbourne and 21% were in Brisbane.
“As of 2014, there are 4,960 Mexican-born people living in Australia.”
Learn more about Australia’s migrants and their countries of birth.
Melbourne Australia, Home of Many of Australia’s Best Schools
Number of Latin American Students in Australia Soars
Crikey news and commentary has noted that “The Latin American cultural presence in Australia goes beyond Zumba classes and fancy tacos. It’s no wonder we hear more Spanish and Portuguese in the streets: the proportion of Latin American students in Australia has been steadily growing in the last seven years.
“The number of student visas issued to Latin American citizens rose 34% between 2006-07 and 2012-13. Chileans, Brazilians, Venezuelans, Peruvians, Ecuadorians, Mexicans and Colombians hold 8.1% of all student visas granted in 2012-13, up from 6% seven years ago, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection reports.”
Using information (mostly) from the Australian Department of Social Services, following are brief overviews of four of the largest Latin American communities in Australia.
The Flag of Brazil, homeland of Migrants to Australia
Brazilians in Australia
“Brazilian migration to Australia, similar to the other Latin American countries, has a recent history.
“There was some early migration from Brazil to Australia during the 19th century, when English ships stopped at Rio de Janeiro en route to Australia.
“By 1901 there were only 105 Brazil-born living in Australia.
“The Brazilian population in Australia remained small until a larger scale migration from Latin America started under the Australian Government’s assisted migration program in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“In the 1980s, towards the end of the military dictatorship, significant numbers migrated to Australia under the Humanitarian Program.
“Migration from Brazil has increased since the early 2000s…Many also arrived as students, particularly to learn English in a temperate climate similar to their own.
…
“The latest Census in 2011 recorded 147 509 Brazil-born people in Australia, an increase of 93.6 per cent from the 2006 Census. The 2011 distribution by state and territory showed New South Wales had the largest number with 6503 followed by Queensland (3418), Victoria (2013) and Western Australia (1748).” Source: Department of Social Services
The Flag of Columbia, the Homeland of Migrants to Melbourne and Other Parts of Australia
Columbians in Australia
Wikipedia reports the following statistics regarding the number of Columbians in Australia.
“11,318 (by birth, 2011 Census)
“10,193 (by ancestry, 2011 Census)”
The Department of Social Services notes that “The latest Census in 2011 recorded 11 318 Colombia-born people in Australia, an increase of 98.2 per cent from the 2006 Census. The 2011 distribution by state and territory showed New South Wales had the largest number with 4512 followed by Victoria (2837), Queensland (2423) and Western Australia (921).” Source: Department of Social Services.
The Flag of Mexico. More Mexicans are Coming to Australia
Mexicans in Australia
Also from the Department of Social Services: “The Mexico-born are relatively new migrants to Australia. Migrant numbers from Mexico continue to be small; almost half the numbers of Mexico-born arrived since the 2006 Census, under the Skilled or Family Streams of the Migration Program.”
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“The latest Census in 2011 recorded 3255 Mexico-born people in Australia, an increase of 80.5 per cent from the 2006 Census. The 2011 distribution by state and territory showed New South Wales had the largest number with 1151 followed by Victoria (883), Queensland (535) and South Australia (289).”
Source: Department of Social Services.
The Flag of Chile
Chileans in Australia
Chileans coming to Australia has a long history. The Department of Social Services reports that “The first known Chilean to arrive in Australia was a political exile, the former President of Chile, General Ramon Freire, who arrived in 1838. The number of Chilean migrants to Australia remained low – the 1901 Census indicated there were 90 Chile-born people in Australia and by 1947 there were 105 people.”
The Department also reports that “The 2011 Census recorded 24 936 Chile-born people in Australia, an increase of 7 per cent from the 2006 Census. The 2011 distribution by state and territory showed New South Wales had the largest number with 12 625 followed by Victoria (7096), Queensland (1968) and Western Australia (1512).”
Regarding languages used by Chilean Australians, the Department reports further that “The main languages spoken at home by Chile-born people in Australia were Spanish (20 883), English (3586) and Italian (115). Of the 21 348 Chile-born who spoke a language other than English at home, 83.4 per cent spoke English very well or well, and 15.5 per cent spoke English not well or not at all.” Source: Department of Social Services.
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