Brisbane - Demographics

Demographics

The Greater Capital City Statistical Area of Brisbane includes much of Brisbane's Local Government Area as well as the cities of Ipswich, Moreton Bay, Logan City and Redland City which demographically are part of a single conurbation. The 2011 census reported 2,065,996 residents within the Brisbane GCCSA, making it the third largest city in Australia. Brisbane recorded the second highest growth rate of all capital cities since the previous Census, growing by 11.5%.

The 2011 census showed that 2% of Brisbane's population were of indigenous origin and 29.7% were born overseas. Of those born outside of Australia, the three main countries of birth were the United Kingdom, New Zealand and India. Approximately 17.9% of households spoke a language other than English, with the most common languages being Mandarin 1.5%, Vietnamese 0.9%, Cantonese 0.9%, Samoan 0.6% and Spanish 0.5%.

Areas with significant overseas-born populations predominate in the southern suburbs and inner Brisbane. By far the largest ethnic minority are Asian Australians. The area around Sunnybank, Sunnybank Hills, Stretton and Robertson is home to a large proportion of Brisbane's Hong Kong and Taiwanese-born. Brisbane's ethnic Chinese population has traditionally been dominated by those with origins in Taiwan and Hong Kong, still far more prevalent than in Sydney and Melbourne where Mainland Chinese are more numerous. Those with origins in China, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries are more spread around the metropolitan area. Brisbane has the highest population of Taiwanese Australian citizens of any city in Australia and these citizens represent by far the highest proportion of Taiwanese Australians of any Australian city. Consequently, Sunnybank and its surrounding suburbs have often been dubbed as "Taiwan Town" and "Little Taipei". Brisbane also has the highest proportion of Korean Australians outside of Sydney. A significant proportion of Brisbane's Vietnamese population reside in the suburbs of Darra and Inala. Moorooka is home to many residents of African descent. The inner southern suburbs were considered the most densely populated areas of people with Southern European heritage. New Farm was historically home to many of Brisbane's early Italian community. There are also a large number of Indians, Filipinos, Pakistanis, German Australians, Papua New Guineans, Fijians and other Pacific Islander communities in the city.