Saturday, April 08, 2006

Fiji people in Australia


from Wendy

Here are some stats on Fiji-born migrants in Australia. I guess this excludes those on visitor visas, students, people on medical visas, over-stayers. Note the confusion people have with classification - Fijian, Indian, Indo-Fijian, Fijian Indian etc. The notes come from a department of DIMEA - Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs. The stats show that indigenous Fijians are fewer than migrants from the Indian diaspora, if you pardon that term!

The Fiji-born Community in Australia

Historical background
By the mid-1950s there were over 2,000 Fiji-born persons in Australia. Fijian migration to Australia became significant in the late 1960s. The Fijians were attracted to Australia by the prospect of better employment, higher wages and improved welfare services. By 1966, over 60% of Fijians living in Australia had settled in Sydney and over the past two decades this pattern of settlement in Sydney has continued.

Migration accelerated in the post-independence decade of the 1970s and by 1986 there were 14,749 Fiji-born persons in Australia. Following the military coups and political unrest in Fiji in 1987, Australia received an influx of Fijian Indians seeking refugee asylum. By 1991 the Fiji-born population in Australia had increased to 30,149.

The Fiji-born comprise several ethnic groups, Fijian, Chinese, Indian, European, Rotuman and others, all of whom are part of the migration stream to Australia. Most Fijians in Australia are of Fijian-Indian ethnicity. About 53% of Fijians in Australia are Christians (mainly Methodists), 38% are Hindus and 8% are Muslims.
Almost all Fijians are proficient in English. Many of the Fijian-Indians speak Hindi or other Indian languages at home. Over 80 percent of Fijians in Australia are under fifty years of age. The Fijians retain strong social and economic ties with their relatives in Fiji.

The community today

Geographic distribution
The latest Census in 2001 recorded 44,040 Fiji-born persons in Australia, an increase of 19 per cent from the 1996 Census. The 2001 distribution by State and Territory showed New South Wales had the largest number with 27,080 followed by Queensland (7,550), Victoria (7,080) and South Australia (770). Of the Fiji-born in Australia, there were 20,570 males (46.7 per cent) and 23,470 females (53.3 per cent). The sex ratio was 87.6 males per 100 females.

Employment
Among Fiji-born people aged 15 years and over, the participation rate in the labour force was 69.6 per cent and the unemployment rate was 8.6 per cent. The corresponding rates in the total Australian population were 63.0 and 7.4 per cent respectively. Of the 25,740 Fiji-born who were employed, 44.9 per cent were employed in a Skilled occupation, 33.9 per cent in Semi-Skilled and 21.2 per cent in Unskilled.

Citizenship
At the 2001 Census, the rate* of Australian Citizenship for the Fiji-born in Australia was 86.3 per cent. The rate for all overseas-born was 75.1 per cent.
* Includes adjustments for people not meeting the residential requirement for citizenship, temporary entrants to Australia and underenumeration at the Census.

Language
The main languages spoken at home by Fiji-born people in Australia were Hindi (54.4 per cent), English (24.9 per cent), and Fijian (9.0 per cent).
Of the 33,060 Fiji-born who spoke a language other than English at home, 94.7 per cent spoke English very well or well and 4.1 per cent spoke English not well or not at all.

Religion
At the 2001 Census the major religions amongst Fiji-born were Hinduism (19,770 persons), Islam (5,770 persons) and Western Catholic (4,500 persons).
Of the Fiji-born, 3.5 per cent stated 'No Religion'. This was lower than that of the total Australian population (15.5 per cent)

Ancestry
In the 2001 Census, the top three ancestries that Fiji-born persons reported were, Indian (25,000), Fijian (7,450) and Indian-Fijian (1,620).

Jointly produced by Multicultural Affairs Branch and the Economic and Demographic Analysis Section of DIMIA. All data listed in this summary are from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing. sources for the Historical background are available at http://www.immi.gov.au/statistics/infosummary/source.htm

19 comments:

Pandabonium said...

Interesting information and perhaps more complex to interpret than one might assume at first.

Living in a relatively rural area of Japan, I go for months at a time without seeing another "gaijin" (foreigner). There are about 53,000 foreigners residing in Ibaraki which has a population of almost 3 million. According to statistcal table I saw, there is one Fiji citizen. No details on ethnicity or religion are available.

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Panda,
A few Fiji guys play rugby in Japan. My daughter-in-law's brother was there for about three years but his wife wanted the children brought up closer to home (Fiji) so now they're in New Zealand.
A friend's son was teaching English in Japan for a year and that seems to be a popular choice for young Australians exploring the world.
W.
PS So you are nowhere near Tokyo and all the crowds.

Anonymous said...

That was some useful information but i was wondering if you knew what the dates were when the nmost fijians immigrated to Australia?

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Anonymous,
You could check out census details to compare, but from anecdotal evidence it seems there were more people coming to Australia from Fiji after 1987.
Has anyone researched this topic for a thesis I wonder.
w.

Anonymous said...

Thankyou for all the information. I am so intrigued by anything to do with Fiji. I have had a number of holidays there and made many friends. I am trying to get a visa for a friend near sigatoka at the moment.I would love to have him visit our family here.

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Hello Gai,
It's often hard to get a visitor visa for a Fijian to come over for a holiday. The Embassy wants assurance that the person won't overstay, had sufficient money for the holiday etc. Hard for young adults especially. Good luck with your plan.
w.

JK said...

Bula vinaka , where did you get your stats from, its pretty amazing.
I want to use this for a presentation but to whom do i credit the infor to?

thnks
JK

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Hello JK,
The source was the government bureau of statistics, etc. as I wrote in the last paragraph.
You may be interested in the Immigration Museum current Talanoa exhibition. This is in Melbourne. A google search will find about it. Also there's a short piece on Fiji migrants in Australia at the Museum in Melbourne.
w.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I am trying to contact the Fijian community groups in South Australia.
If anyone involved could give me a ring I would appreciate it.
Dick Milner
(08) 8523 1716
0408 489 820
Thank you.

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A J said...

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A J said...

HI JUST WONDERING IF ANYBODYS INTERESTED IN A BIG 5 BEDROOM, TWO STOREY VERY LARGE FAMILY HOME WITH LARGE LIVING AREAS, OFFICE SPACE, DOUBLE GARAGE, DOUBLE CARPORT, HUGE DECK AREA, WITH LOVELY VIEWS. CLOSE TO ALL AMENITIES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT.FOR PHOTOS AND MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROPERTY EMAIL: raggst6@hotmail.com

Have also got other freehold land if you are interested.

-Seasheel Beach Estate,We are in the process of building a Retirment Holiday Village on the Coral Coast at Malaqereqere (Sigatoka) for more info email: ajseashell@hotmail.com

-Lami Heights, We have just recently REDUCED prices, have currently sold 6 Lots and have another 18 available prices are starting from $56,250-(FJD) VIP or $34,00-(AUD)pay in Austrailia. All Lots have own individual title and are between 800 to 1200 square meters. for more info email: infolamiheights@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

HI JUST WONDERING IF ANYBODYS INTERESTED IN A BIG 5 BEDROOM, TWO STOREY VERY LARGE FAMILY HOME WITH LARGE LIVING AREAS, OFFICE SPACE, DOUBLE GARAGE, DOUBLE CARPORT, HUGE DECK AREA, WITH LOVELY VIEWS. CLOSE TO ALL AMENITIES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT. FOR PHOTOS AND MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROPERTY EMAIL: raggst6@hotmail.com

Have also got other freehold land if you are interested.

-Seasheel Beach Estate,We are in the process of building a Retirment Holiday Village on the Coral Coast at Malaqereqere (Sigatoka) for more info email: ajseashell@hotmail.com

-Lami Heights, We have just recently REDUCED prices, have currently sold 6 Lots and have another 18 available prices are starting from $56,250-(FJD) VIP or $34,00-(AUD)pay in Austrailia. All Lots have own individual title and are between 800 to 1200 square meters. for more info email: infolamiheights@gmail.com

A J said...

HI JUST WONDERING IF ANYBODYS INTERESTED IN A BIG 5 BEDROOM, TWO STOREY VERY LARGE FAMILY HOME WITH LARGE LIVING AREAS, OFFICE SPACE, DOUBLE GARAGE, DOUBLE CARPORT, HUGE DECK AREA, WITH LOVELY VIEWS. CLOSE TO ALL AMENITIES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT. FOR PHOTOS AND MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROPERTY EMAIL: raggst6@hotmail.com

Have also got other freehold land if you are interested.

-Seasheel Beach Estate,We are in the process of building a Retirment Holiday Village on the Coral Coast at Malaqereqere (Sigatoka) for more info email: ajseashell@hotmail.com

-Lami Heights, We have just recently REDUCED prices, have currently sold 6 Lots and have another 18 available prices are starting from $56,250-(FJD) VIP or $34,00-(AUD)pay in Austrailia. All Lots have own individual title and are between 800 to 1200 square meters. for more info email: infolamiheights@gmail.com

A J said...

oops didnt relize that i kept posting.

Jess W said...

Bula! I'm not 100 per cent sure where to post this, but I'm really looking for advice and this seems like a helpful site! My partner (25 Fijian male) and I (Australian citizen) are currently looking to apply for a visa for him - only tourist at the moment as it seems quite difficult! Does anyone have any advice on how to do this? The process seems so rigid! I am a university student and not terribly well off - neither is he. Are we wasting our time? I have no idea how anyone ever gets granted visas in this country! Please help!

Anonymous said...

hi

im wondering about Fijian immigration and couldyou please send back some info

Anonymous said...

How to go to Australia from Fijji?

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