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FACT SHEET: Muslim & Arab Australians in New South Wales
1. Muslim Australians
- Total number of Muslims in Australia: 281,578
- Total number of Muslims in New South Wales: 140,097
- Proportion of the Australian population who are Muslim: 1.5%
- Proportion of the NSW population who are Muslim: 2.2%
*Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2001 Census.
Figure 1: Australian Muslim population by state and territory
Source:
ABS, 2001 Census. Basic Community Snapshots and Profiles.
Click here for text only version.
Table 1: Geographic Distribution of Muslims in Australia, 2001
| State/territory
|
Proportion
of all Australian Muslims |
Proportion
of total state or territory population |
| New South Wales | 50% | 2.2% |
| Victoria | 33% | 2.0% |
| Western Australia | 7% | 1.1% |
| Queensland | 5% | 0.4% |
| South Australia | 3% | 0.5% |
| Australian Capital Territory | 1% | 1.1% |
| Northern Territory | 0.3% | 0.5% |
| Tasmania | 0.3% | 0.2% |
Total |
100% |
1.5% |
Source: ABS, 2001 Census.
Table 2: Distribution of Australian Muslims by major statistical local areas in Sydney, 2001
| Statistical local area | Number |
| Bankstown (C) | 19,538 |
| Canterbury (C) | 15,073 |
| Auburn (A) | 13,083 |
| Liverpool (C) | 11,554 |
| Parramatta (C) | 10,025 |
| Rockdale (C) | 7,206 |
| Fairfield (C) | 6,829 |
| Holroyd (C) | 5,267 |
| Campbelltown (C) | 4,778 |
| Blacktown (C) - South-West | 4,009 |
| Blacktown (C) - South-East | 3,647 |
| Botany Bay (C) | 2,946 |
| Marrickville (A) | 2,789 |
| Penrith (C) | 2,394 |
| Hurstville (C) | 2,209 |
| Baulkham Hills (A) | 2,090 |
| Hornsby (A) | 1,996 |
| Ryde (C) | 1,856 |
| Randwick (C) | 1,849 |
| Kogarah (A) | 1,558 |
| South Sydney (C) | 1,523 |
| Blacktown (C) - North | 1,460 |
2. Arab & Middle-Eastern Australians
- Total number of Australians born in the Middle East or North Africa in Australia: 213,940 (1.1% of the national population)
- Total number Australians born in the Middle East or North Africa in New South Wales: 126,697 (2% of the NSW state population)
*Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2001 Census.
Definitions
Defining who is an ‘Arab’ or exactly which countries lie within the Middle East is a complex matter.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) defines the Middle East as: Bahrain, Gaza Strip and West Bank (Palestine), Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. North Africa is defined as: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and the Western Sahara. ‘Arab’ includes: Algerian, Egyptian, Iraqi, Jordanian, Kuwaiti, Lebanese, Libyan, Moroccan, Palestinian, Saudi Arabian, Syrian, Tunisian.
This summary uses ABS definitions and highlights specific countries of origin for a significant number of Australians. These countries are: Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel. Other Middle Eastern, North African and Arab countries with much smaller representation in Australian are grouped into two categories:
- ‘Other Middle East’ (which includes Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen)
- ‘Other North Africa’ (which includes Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Mauritania, Djibouti and Western Sahara)
Table 3: Main countries of birth of Australians of Middle Eastern & North African origin, 2001
| Country
of birth |
Number |
| Lebanon | 71 349 |
| Egypt | 33 432 |
| Turkey | 29 821 |
| Iraq | 24 832 |
| Iran | 18 789 |
| Syria | 6 710 |
| Israel | 6 574 |
| Other Middle East | 13 212 |
| Other North Africa | 8 918 |
| Other not further defined | 303 |
Total |
213 940 |
Source: ABS, 2001 Census, Unpublished data.
Figure 2: State & territory distribution of Australians born in the Middle East & North Africa, 2001
Source: ABS, 2001
Census. Basic Community Profiles and Snapshots.
Click here for text only version.
Table 4: Australians born in the Middle East or North Africa in major statistical local areas of Sydney, 2001
| Statistical
Local Area |
Egypt
|
Iran |
Iraq |
Lebanon |
Syria |
Turkey |
Other
Middle East |
Other
North Africa |
Total
|
| Fairfield (C) | 535 |
1078
|
7881 |
2178 |
681 |
838 |
844 |
192 |
14227 |
| Bankstown (C) | 1108 |
108
|
362 |
10647 |
634 |
323 |
651 |
178 |
14011 |
| Canterbury (C) | 1088
|
90 |
481 |
7552 |
461 |
272 |
621
|
321 |
10886 |
| Parramatta (C) | 442
|
1008
|
533
|
5998
|
281 |
827
|
394 |
151 |
9634 |
| Liverpool (C) | 791 |
521 |
2200 |
3035 |
184 |
453 |
402 |
370 |
7956 |
| Auburn (A) | 155 |
169 |
928 |
2434 |
148 |
2487 |
329 |
91 |
6741 |
| Holroyd (C) | 377 |
469 |
481 |
3806
|
183 |
667 |
307 |
137 |
6427 |
| Rockdale (C) | 1201 |
73 |
151 |
2751 |
51 |
279 |
133 |
85 |
4724 |
| Blacktown (C) - S-East | 654 |
284 |
131 |
768 |
113 |
513 |
242 |
473 |
3178 |
| Ryde (C) | 356 |
1003 |
118 |
915 |
226 |
161 |
237 |
34 |
3050 |
| Blacktown (C)-West | 526 |
164 |
519 |
547 |
68 |
486 |
213 |
418 |
2941 |
| Hornsby (A) | 286 |
993 |
43 |
741 |
29 |
128 |
190 |
41 |
2451 |
| Campbelltown (C) | 580 |
104 |
194 |
929 |
106 |
101 |
291 |
71 |
2376 |
| Baulkham Hills (A) | 448
|
636 |
71 |
771 |
56
|
195 |
227 |
33 |
2437 |
| Penrith (C) | 585
|
244 |
199 |
559 |
78
|
226 |
186
|
78 |
2155 |
| Randwick (C) | 802 |
214 |
187 |
467 |
30 |
190 |
89 |
94
|
2073 |
| Botany Bay (C) | 583 |
133 |
391 |
252
|
25 |
482 |
46 |
84 |
1996 |
| Hurstville (C) | 776 |
48 |
39 |
858 |
46 |
47 |
83 |
93 |
1990 |
| Marrickville (A) | 290 |
43 |
35 |
1100 |
73
|
323 |
51 |
60
|
1975 |
| Warringah (A) | 320 |
477 |
55
|
194 |
138 |
155
|
93 |
65 |
1497 |
| Blacktown (C) - North | 388 |
232 |
43
|
294 |
17 |
227 |
135 |
73 |
1409 |
| Kogarah (A) | 498
|
32 |
39 |
632 |
16 |
61 |
36 |
51 |
1365 |
| Willoughby (C) | 214 |
350 |
35 |
348 |
147 |
100 |
95 |
33 |
1322 |
| South Sydney (C) | 179 |
99
|
38 |
388 |
20 |
235 |
71 |
62 |
1092 |
| Burwood (A) | 127 |
32 |
7 |
729 |
31 |
94 |
46 |
23 |
1089 |
| Strathfield (A) | 234 |
29 |
12 |
577 |
31 |
89 |
66
|
39 |
1077 |
| S’land Shire (A) - West | 460 |
20 |
32 |
365 |
27 |
44 |
60 |
25 |
1033 |
| S’land Shire (A) - East | 493
|
29 |
24 |
238
|
20
|
65
|
46
|
22
|
937 |
| Ku-ring-gai (A) | 154 |
423 |
16
|
128 |
19 |
72 |
86 |
21 |
919 |
| Ashfield (A) | 113
|
45 |
13 |
378 |
29 |
113 |
28 |
58 |
777 |
| Waverley (A) | 214 |
72 |
57 |
95 |
5 |
77 |
33 |
66 |
619 |
| Concord (A) | 128
|
19 |
8 |
288
|
9
|
80 |
24 |
8
|
564 |
| Lane Cove (A) | 102 |
161 |
13 |
73 |
15 |
60 |
31 |
15
|
470 |
| North Sydney (A) | 117 |
126 |
24
|
60 |
15 |
62 |
34 |
27 |
465 |
| Woollahra (A) | 185 |
59 |
42 |
61 |
3 |
40 |
22 |
35 |
447 |
| Leichhardt (A) | 109 |
50
|
12
|
126 |
9
|
78 |
32 |
18 |
434 |
| Gosford (C) | 160 |
64 |
10
|
77 |
14 |
33 |
24 |
29 |
411 |
| Drummoyne (A) | 173 |
25 |
6 |
95 |
7
|
100 |
12 |
8
|
426 |
| Wyong (A) | 150 |
23 |
16
|
53 |
11 |
23 |
22 |
11 |
309 |
| Camden (A) | 40 |
14
|
24 |
117 |
3
|
13 |
12 |
8 |
231 |
| Manly (A) | 82 |
41 |
7
|
12 |
0 |
48 |
12 |
32 |
234 |
| Hawkesbury (C) | 32 |
30 |
10 |
88 |
6 |
11 |
6 |
8
|
191 |
| Blue Mountains (C) | 52 |
16 |
17 |
58 |
6
|
17 |
11 |
7
|
184 |
| Sydney (C) - Remainder | 23 |
35 |
4 |
35 |
6 |
28 |
37 |
9 |
177 |
| Hunter's Hill (A) | 51 |
38 |
9
|
39 |
6
|
13 |
9 |
5 |
170 |
| Pittwater (A) | 36 |
40 |
8 |
31 |
5 |
9 |
20 |
8 |
157 |
| Mosman (A) | 48 |
37 |
11 |
17 |
8 |
19 |
12 |
13 |
165 |
| Wollondilly (A) | 19
|
20 |
13 |
89 |
0 |
5 |
10 |
6
|
162 |
| Sydney (C) - Inner | 22 |
10 |
6
|
15 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
70 |
| Total for Sydney SD | 16506 |
10030 |
15555 |
52008 |
4096
|
10975 |
6667 |
3794 |
119631 |
*Source: ABS, 2001 Census, Unpublished data
Race Discrimination
Unit, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, July 2003. ABS data
used with permission from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.