(Exclusive Minds’ post from the FACEBOOK on 01 May 2026.)
Indians
have officially overtaken the English to become Australia’s largest
overseas-born migrant group for the first time on record
According
to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data, 971,020 Australia residents
were born in India, narrowly ahead of 970,950 born in England. The shift may
look small in numbers, but symbolically, it is huge. For decades, England was
Australia’s dominant migrant birthplace outside Australia. Now, India has moved
to the top.
The data also shows how fast Australia’s Indian-origin population has grown. In 2015, around 449,000 Australian residents were India-born. By June 2025, that number had more than doubled to 971,020, making India the biggest contributor to Australia’s overseas-born population growth over the past decade.
Australia
is also becoming more migrant-heavy overall. As of June 2025, 8.8 million
people, or 32% of Australia’s population, were born overseas. The top four
overseas birthplaces are now India, England, China and New Zealand.
What
this really means is that Australia’s demographic story is changing. Indian
students, skilled workers, professionals, families and business owners have
become a major part of the country’s economy and society. From universities and
tech jobs to healthcare, small businesses, cricket culture and community life,
the Indian diaspora is no longer a small migrant bloc. It is now central to
modern Australia.
At
the same time, the rise comes amid a heated political debate over migration,
housing pressure and population growth. So while the numbers mark a proud
milestone for the Indian diaspora, they also place Indian-origin communities at
the centre of one of Australia’s biggest national conversations.
