The country’s original inhabitants, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, are the custodians of one of the world’s oldest continuing cultural traditions. Australia’s Aboriginal people were thought to have arrived here from South East Asia at least 50,000 years ago.
Australia’s culture and lifestyle also reflects its democratic traditions and values, geographic proximity both to the Asian region and the Pacific region, and the social, cultural and linguistic influences of the millions of migrants and refugees who have settled in Australia since World War II.
Today, Australia has a population of around 21.3 million people.
Australia’s Indigenous population is estimated at around 2.5% of the total population.
The rest of Australia’s people are migrants or refugees or descendants of migrants who have arrived in Australia from more than 200 countries since the first European settlement in Sydney in 1788.
In 1945, Australia’s population was around 7 million people and was mainly Anglo-–Celtic. Since then, more than 6.5 million migrants, including 675,000 refugees, have settled in Australia, significantly broadening its social, linguistic and cultural profile. More than 43% of Australians either were born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas.
Migrants and refugees have enriched every aspect of Australian life, from business to the arts, from cooking to comedy and from science to sport – including, and especially, football.
Together, this great multicultural mix of one of the most ancient cultures on earth together with people from every corner of the globe, has contributed to developing a nation which is diverse but inclusive, optimistic, vibrant, genuine, relaxed and egalitarian.
