Pakistani Australians

{{Short description|Australian citizens from Pakistani origin}} {{update|date=December 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Use Australian English|date=January 2018}} {{Infobox ethnic group | group = Pakistani Australians | native_name = {{Nastaliq|پاكِستانی آسٹریلوی}} | flag = {{flagicon|Pakistan}}{{flagicon|Australia}} | image = Australia Pakistan Locator.png | pop = '''120,440''' (born in Pakistan, 2023)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/country-profiles/profiles/pakistan | title=2023 Country profile - Pakistan, Australian department of home affairs }}</ref><br />('''0.5%''' of the Australian population) | popplace = | region1 = {{flagcountry|New South Wales}} | pop1 = {{nowrap|33,902 (2022)}} | ref1 = <ref name="SBS5"/> | region2 = {{flagcountry|Victoria}} | pop2 = 30,945 (2022) | ref2 = <ref name="SBS5"/> | region3 = {{flagcountry|Western Australia}} | pop3 = 7,615 (2022) | ref3 = <ref name="SBS5"/> | region4 = {{flagcountry|Queensland}} | pop4 = 6,434 (2022) | ref4 = <ref name="SBS5"/> | region5 = {{flagcountry|South Australia}} | pop5 = 5,666 (2022) | ref5 = <ref name="SBS5"/> | region6 = {{flagcountry|Australian Capital Territory}} | pop6 = 2,906 (2022) | ref6 = <ref name="SBS5"/> | region7 = {{flagcountry|Northern Territory}} | pop7 = 687 (2022) | ref7 = <ref name="SBS5"/> | region8 = {{flagcountry|Tasmania}} | pop8 = 1,469 (2022) | ref8 = <ref name="SBS5"/> | langs = Australian and Pakistani English{{·}} Urdu{{·}} Punjabi{{·}} Sindhi{{·}} Pashto{{·}} Balochi{{·}} Kashmiri{{·}} others | rels = Predominantly Islam, with small minority of Christianity and Hinduism | related = Overseas Pakistani{{·}} Indian Australians }} '''Pakistani Australians''' ({{Langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|پاكِستانی آسٹریلوی}}}}) are a subgroup of the Pakistani diaspora residing in Australia. This includes both those who are Australian by birth, and those born in Pakistan or elsewhere in the diaspora. Most Pakistani Australians are Muslims by religion,<ref name="SBS3"/> although there are also sizeable Christian, Hindu and other minorities.<ref name="origins">{{cite web|url=http://museumvictoria.com.au/origins/history.aspx?pid=44|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080730043855/http://museumvictoria.com.au/origins/history.aspx?pid=44|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 July 2008|title=History of immigration from Pakistan|work=Museum Victoria Australia|access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref>

==History in Australia== {{See also|Afghan cameleers in Australia}}

Early Muslim migrants (known as "Ghans") entered Outback Australia as camel drivers in the late 1800s from Colonial India and some of those areas are now part of present-day Pakistan.<ref name="origins" /> Many of these men were unmarried, and intermarried with local Aboriginal women, resulting in a mixed Aboriginal Australian population with ancestry in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/why-this-aboriginal-australian-academic-is-fascinated-by-the-indus-civilisation|title=Why this Aboriginal Australian academic is fascinated by the Indus civilisation|work=SBS Urdu|date=4 December 2019|access-date=10 September 2020|first=Rehman|last=Alavi|quote=Professor Troy says the ancestral connections between Aboriginal people and people who came to Australia from what is now Pakistan prove great links between the cultures and civilisations...|archive-date=16 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316221226/https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/why-this-aboriginal-australian-academic-is-fascinated-by-the-indus-civilisation|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/how-the-cameleers-and-aboriginal-culture-connected-in-australia|title=How the Cameleers and Aboriginal culture connected in Australia|work=SBS Urdu|date=13 July 2019|first=Talib|last=Haider|access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref>

Immigration from lands that make up the historical territory of Pakistan to Australia has been occurring since the late 19 century. In the modern sense, Pakistan came into existence in 1947 as a result of the dissolution of the British Raj via the Partition of India. In the modern post-independence sense, Pakistani migrants can be dated back to the early 1950s, Immigration to Australia from Pakistan started to pick up in the 1970s. Since then the number of Pakistani immigrants increased dramatically, with thousands of Pakistanis entering Australia each year since that time.

==Demographics== ===Population=== {{Historical populations|2011|33,049|2014|49,770|2016|61,913|2017|76,590|2018|84,340|2019|91000|2021|103121|2023|120,440|align=left|percentages=pagr|footnote=Sources:<ref>{{cite web |title=Population in Australia |url= https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/country-profiles/profiles/pakistan?utm_source=chatgpt.com |publisher = Australia Bureau of Statistics}}</ref>{{AI-retrieved source|date=March 2026|checked=no}}}}

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics for 2011 indicated that there were about 33,049 Pakistani Australians, of whom 30,221 were born in Pakistan.<ref name="Census2011">{{cite book|url=https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf|title=The People of Australia: Statistics from the 2011 Census (National)|work=Australian Government Department of Immigration|year=2014|access-date=11 August 2016|isbn=978-1-920996-23-9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417222156/https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf|archive-date=17 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=AusBurStats>{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/52F24D6A97BC0A67CA2578B0001197B8|title=3412.0 - Migration, Australia, 2009-10: Australia-Born and Overseas-Born|work=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=16 June 2011|access-date=6 June 2013}}</ref> By mid-2014, the number of Pakistani-born individuals stood at 49,770.<ref name="Border">{{cite news|url=http://www.border.gov.au/about/reports-publications/research-statistics/statistics/live-in-australia/country-profiles/pakistan|title=Country profile – Pakistan|work=Department of Immigration and Border Protection (Australian Government)|year=2014|access-date=9 October 2017}}</ref> At the time of the 2016 census, the total population reached 61,913 individuals.<ref name="SBS">{{cite news|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/urdu/en/article/2017/06/27/number-australians-born-pakistan-doubles|title=Number of Australians born in Pakistan doubles|work=SBS News|date=27 June 2017|access-date=28 June 2017|first=Zain|last=Nabi}}</ref> The Pakistani community is the second fastest-growing in terms of population growth.<ref name="SBS"/> Pakistanis are also the largest contributor of overseas-born Muslims in Australia, at 14.7 percent.<ref name="SBS3">{{cite news|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/urdu/en/article/2017/06/27/islam-most-common-religion-australia-after-christianity|title=Islam most common religion in Australia after Christianity|work=SBS News|date=27 June 2017|access-date=28 June 2017|first=Zain|last=Nabi}}</ref> Urdu is one of the most common languages in Pakistani households,<ref name="SBS2">{{cite news|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/urdu/en/article/2017/06/28/most-pakistanis-and-urdu-speakers-live-australian-state|title=Most Pakistanis and Urdu speakers live in this Australian state|work=SBS News|date=28 June 2017|access-date=28 June 2017|first=Zain|last=Nabi}}</ref> and Sydney has the largest Pakistani community in Oceania.<ref name="SBS2"/> Western Suburbs of Sydney are home to biggest Pakistani Community in Australia. Some noticeable suburbs with significantly higher population of Pakistani Diaspora and Individuals born in Pakistan include Auburn, Lakemba, Wiley Park, Mount Druitt, Rooty Hill and Plumpton. Auburn Road in Auburn is also Referred as “ LITTLE PAKISTAN “ by locals because of significant presence of Pakistani Community and Pakistani owned businesses including restaurants and supermarkets . In June 2017, 76,590 Pakistani-born individuals were living in Australia.<ref name="HA1">{{cite news|url=https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/country-profiles/profiles/pakistan|title=Country profile - Pakistan|work=Australian Department of Home Affairs|access-date=9 May 2020|date=21 March 2019}}</ref> As of June 2018, the population was recorded at 84,340 by the ABS.<ref name="SBS4">{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/urdu/en/article/2019/05/02/how-many-pakistanis-live-australia|title=How many Pakistanis live in Australia|first=Talib|last=Haider|work=SBS News|date=2 May 2019|access-date=5 May 2019}}</ref> In 2019, the population grew by eight percent to 91,000.<ref name="SBS5">{{cite news|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/pakistani-population-in-australia-increases-to-91-000|title=Pakistani population in Australia increases to 91,000|work=SBS Urdu|date=8 May 2020|access-date=9 May 2020|first=Talib|last=Haider}}</ref>

According to the 2006 Census in Victoria, there were an estimated 4,703 Pakistani born persons, with the majority living in Melbourne. The number has since tripled from the previous census which was in 1996. Those living in Victoria that are Pakistani-born are highly educated with more than a third working in professional positions and about half working in 'clerical, production, service, transport and sales positions'.<ref name="origins" />

In 2012, 7,400 Pakistani international students were studying in Australia, an increase from close to 5,000 in 2007. Under the Australia-Pakistan Scholarship Program, 500 scholarships were available to Pakistani students from 2005 to 2010 to facilitate postgraduate studies in Australia. Australia has become one of the largest markets for Pakistani students outside the United States and United Kingdom.<ref name="DFAT">{{cite web|url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/pakistan/pakistan_brief.html|title=Pakistan country brief|date=November 2012|work=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=6 June 2013}}</ref>

Around 1,000 Pakistanis live in the federal capital, Canberra.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1325476/pakistani-petrol-attendant-stabbed-to-death-in-australia|title=Pakistani petrol attendant stabbed to death in Australia|work=Dawn|date=7 April 2017|access-date=7 April 2017}}</ref>

===Education and qualifications=== Pakistani Australians tend to be urban, well-educated, and professional.<ref name="Border"/><ref name="Ali">{{cite web|url=https://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2013/10/17/australia-and-pakistan/|title=Australia and Pakistan: A Neglected Relationship?|work=National Geographic Voices|date=17 October 2013|access-date=9 October 2017|first=Saleem|last=Ali|author-link=Saleem Ali (academic)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010005851/https://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2013/10/17/australia-and-pakistan/|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> Most of them migrate from large cities like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Multan and Peshawar, and tend to be familiar with Western culture and ways of living. According to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, around 50 percent of Pakistani-born Australians hold an undergraduate degree or higher qualification, compared to the national average of 20 percent.<ref name="Ali"/> Similarly, 52 percent of Pakistanis fall within the age bracket of 22 to 44 years. Occupationally, 29 percent of Pakistanis are employed as professionals, 10 percent are in managerial roles, 12 percent are involved in clerical and administration roles, another 12 percent are involved in community work and personal services, nine percent are sales workers, while 13 percent are drivers/machine operators, 8 percent are labourers and 7 percent are tradespeople.<ref name="Ali"/>

=== Religion === {{Pie chart|caption=Religion of Pakistani Australians<ref>{{cite web | url=https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/pakistani-culture/pakistani-culture-population-statistics#pakistani-culture-population-statistics | title=Pakistani Culture - Population Statistics }}</ref>|label1=Islam|label3=Hinduism|label4=Others|value1=92.2|value3=0.9|value4=5.1|color1=Green|color3=DarkOrange|color4=Black|color5=|value2=1.9|color2=Blue|label2=Catholic}} In 2021, 92.2% from Pakistani Australians (89,633 people in 2021) identified as Muslim, 1.9% as Catholic, 3.3% as Atheist, 0.9% as Hindus and 1.8% as Other religion.

==Notable people== {{Further|List of Pakistani Australians}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.pakistan.org.au/ High Commission For Pakistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409171351/http://www.pakistan.org.au/ |date=9 April 2013 }} * [http://www.urdu.org.au/ Pakistan Cultural Association] * [http://www.pafa.org.au Pakistan Australia Friendship Association] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115185829/http://pafa.org.au/ |date=15 November 2022 }} * https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/7106_6 * https://www.vic.gov.au/pakistani-community-profile

* Category:Australian people of Pakistani descent