The number of Indian born Australians has more than doubled over the last 10 years, the largest increase according to latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.
The ABS annual population update released today has shown the total number of Australians born in India has risen from 411,000 in 2014 to 916,000 in 2024, making up 3.4% of the overall population.
As per the last update, India remains the second most common country of birth for those not born in Australia, following England.
The total percentage of all Australians born overseas has seen a modest increase, 30.7 percent in 2023 to 31.5 percent in 2024. This follows a decrease in 2021 due to pandemic border closures.
Interestingly, the median age of Indian born Australians has risen again over the last 10 years, from a low of 33 to 36 this year. This is less than the median Overseas-born Australian age of 43.
Though such growth is evident amongst our community, this data gives an official measure of just how much the Indian born Australian population has burgeoned.
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Notably, ABS findings only measure country-of-birth, and thus differ from those of the 2021 Census, in which 783,958 individuals declared Indian ancestry. A truer indication of the diaspora’s size will only become clear with the 2026 Census.
Nonetheless, the domestic influence of Indian-born Australians has also grown substantially over the past 10 years. Identified as a substantial voting bank for Saturday’s elections, both Labor and Liberal have made substantial funding pledges directed at the Indian community, which have been met with mixed reviews.
Conversely, Opposition leader Peter Dutton has pledged to lower net migration levels by 100,000 if elected. This latest ABS data ranks Australia eighth in the world for number of international migrant (8.4 million), with the top country being the USA (52.4 million).
Peter Doukas, the Chairperson of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Australia, has urged political parties and candidates not to politicise migrant communities in the lead up to voting.
“Multicultural and migrant communities must not be used to score political points,” Mr Doukas said in a media release last week. “We strongly urge all candidates to run respectful, inclusive campaigns that strengthen our social fabric rather than tear it apart.
“This election must be about all Australians. Our cultural diversity is something to be celebrated, not weaponised.”
Other ABS findings released today show the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has increased 2.4 percent over the last year. With Indian Link’s 2025 Election survey revealing cost-of-living to be the top issue for Indian-Australian voters, time will tell how these migration figures will impact supply and demand.
