| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 138,463 (2021, by ancestry) 122,506 (2021, by country of birth) [1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sydney · Melbourne | |
| Languages | |
| English · Nepali | |
| Religion | |
| Majority Hinduism · Buddhism · Kirant Mundhum · Christian minorities. | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Non Resident Nepali |
Nepali Australians are the citizens and residents in Australia whose ethnic origins lie fully or partially in Nepal. Nepali started to settle in Australia from the 1960s, [2] but the vast majority of Nepali Australians arrived after 2006. [3]
Australian residents of Nepali origin have significantly increased in recent years: in the 2021 census, 138,463 people reported Nepali ancestry, 0.54% of the total population. Just five years before, in the 2016 census, there were only 62,806 people with Nepali ancestry. This follows after the population of this community quardrupled in the 5 years to 2011, and doubled again in the 5 years in 2016. [4] [3]
About 5,000 Lhotshampas or Bhutanese refugees who are living in various refugee camps of Nepal are being resettled in Australia. They share common language and culture with the mainstream Nepali. [5]
Since 1990, ethnic Nepalis in more than 110,000 in numbers, who were forced out of Bhutan have temporarily settled in refugee camps in eastern part of Nepal. After the 15 years of exile they are now being resettled in Australia, US and Europe. By the end of the resettlement program it is estimated that around 5,000 of Bhutanese will be in Australia. [6]
The number of Nepali students seeking admission to universities in Australia is increasing. The instability caused by the Maoist insurgency and Gorkha earthquake of 2015, has led Nepali students to turn to Australia for academic pursuits. The figures from the federal Government’s Australian Education International (AEI) in 2007 show that in the 12 months to September, commencements by students from Nepal increased by 504 per cent, or 2884 students. [7] According to data provided by the Australian Home Affairs, the period spanning from 2018 to 2019 saw the issuance of 31,799 student visas, which decreased to 24,445 from 2019 to 2020, further declining to 20,585 from 2020 to 2021, and subsequently increased to 30,667 from 2021 to 2022. As reported by the Australian Department of Education, the current year, 2023, witnesses an enrollment of over 53,170 Nepali students pursuing their education in Australia. This numerical influx situates Nepal as the third most substantial origin of international students, trailing behind China and India.[ citation needed ]
The current population of Nepal is 29,164,578 as per the 2021 census. The population growth rate is 0.92% per year.
The Lhotshampa or Lhotsampa people are a heterogeneous Bhutanese people of Nepalese descent. "Lhotshampa", which means "southern borderlanders" in Dzongkha, began to be used by the Bhutanese state in the second half of the twentieth century to refer to the population of Nepali origin in the south of the country. After being displaced as a result of the state-run ethnic cleansing and living in refugee camps in eastern parts of Nepal, starting in 2007 most of the Bhutanese Refugees were resettled to various countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. As of 2021 the number of Lhotshampa in Nepal is significantly lower than that in the United States and other countries where they have resettled. People of Nepalese origin started to settle in uninhabited areas of southern Bhutan in the 19th century.
Bhutanese refugees are Lhotshampas ("southerners"), a group of Nepali language-speaking Bhutanese people. These refugees registered in refugee camps in eastern Nepal during the 1990s as Bhutanese citizens who fled or were deported from Bhutan during the protest against the Bhutanese government by some of the Lhotshampas demanding human rights and democracy in Bhutan. As Nepal and Bhutan have yet to implement an agreement on repatriation, most Bhutanese refugees have since resettled to North America, Oceania and Europe under the auspices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Many Lhotshampa also migrated to areas of West Bengal and Assam in India independently of the UNHCR.
Immigration to Bhutan has an extensive history and has become one of the country's most contentious social, political, and legal issues. Since the twentieth century, Bhutanese immigration and citizenship laws have been promulgated as acts of the royal government, often by decree of the Druk Gyalpo on advice of the rest of government. Immigration policy and procedure are implemented by the Lhengye Zhungtshog Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Department of Immigration. Bhutan's first modern laws regarding immigration and citizenship were the Bhutanese Citizenship Act 1958 and subsequent amendments in 1977. The 1958 Act was superseded by the Bhutanese Citizenship Act 1985, which was then supplemented by a further Immigration Act in 2007. The Constitution of 2008 included some changes in Bhutan's immigration laws, policy, and procedure, however prior law not inconsistent with the 2008 Constitution remained intact. Bhutan's modern citizenship laws and policies reinforce the institution of the Bhutanese monarchy, require familiarity and adherence to Ngalop social norms, and reflect the social impact of the most recent immigrant groups.
Numerous ethnic groups inhabit Bhutan, but the Ngalop people who speak the Dzongkha language constitute a majority of the Bhutanese population. The Bhutanese are of four main ethnic groups, which themselves are not necessarily exclusive – the politically and culturally dominant Ngalop of western and northern Bhutan, the Sharchop of eastern Bhutan, the Lhotshampa concentrated in southern Bhutan, and Bhutanese tribal and aboriginal peoples living in villages scattered throughout Bhutan.
Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Bhutan, covering about 22.6% of the population, according to the Pew Research Center 2010. It is followed mainly by the ethnic Lhotshampa. The Shaivite, Vaishnavite, Shakta, Ganapathi, Puranic, and Vedic schools are represented among Hindus. Hindu temples exist in southern Bhutan, and Hindus practice their religion in small- to medium-sized groups. About 75% of the population of Bhutan are Buddhist.
Thai Australians refers to Australians who trace their ancestry to Thailand or Thais who trace their ancestry to Australia. The Australian census recorded 45,635 Australians with Thai ancestry in the 2011 census.
Ethiopian Australians are immigrants from Ethiopia to Australia and their descendants. However, as Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic country with significant inter-ethnic tensions, not all individuals from Ethiopia accept the label "Ethiopian", instead preferring to identify by their ethnic group. In particular, various Oromo people use the term 'Oromo Australian' instead. In contrast, there are many individuals who prefer to label themselves as Ethiopian Australians. This is because they oppose labelling themselves based on their ethnicity as they see it as divisive and politicising their ethnic identity. This is common among the Amharic-speaking community along with ethnically mixed individuals, compared to others who stand by their ethnic identity.
Nepalese Americans are Americans of Nepalese ancestry. Immigration from Nepal to the United States began in the 20th century, and many have been able to establish themselves as American nationals. The history of immigration from Nepal to America is more recent in comparison to other South Asian ethnic groups. Major community groups of Nepali Americans consists of Khas, followed by minority Newars, Tharus, Tamangs, Gurungs, Limbus, Rais, Magar, Madhesis, Lhotshampas, Sherpas, and others, as of American Nepalese Convention Survey of 2018.
Singaporean Australians are Australians of Singaporean descent. As Singapore is a multi-racial country, a Singaporean Australian could either be of Chinese, Malay or Indian descent, the main races of Singapore. According to the 2006 Australian census, 39,969 Australians were born in Singapore while 4,626 claimed Singaporean ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry.
Nepalese New Zealanders or Nepali New Zealanders are citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand whose ethnic origins are fully or partially in Nepal.
Somali Australians are citizens and residents of Australia who are of Somali ancestry.
Nepal is home to 40,490 refugees officially recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Indian, Tibetan and Bhutanese refugees account for a large majority of Nepal’s refugee population.
Nepalis in the Netherlands are immigrants, expatriates and international students from Nepal in the Netherlands, as well as Dutch people of Nepalese origin. As of 2010, statistics of the Dutch Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek shows that there are about 1,505 people of Nepalese origin living in the country.
Bhutanese Americans are Americans of Bhutanese descent. According to the 2010 census there are 19,439 Americans of Bhutanese descent. However, many Nepali-Bhutanese came to the U.S. via Nepal as political refugees from that country and are registered as Nepali Americans; often leading to the actual numbers of Bhutanese Americans being underreported. More than 92,323 Bhutanese Nepalis have been resettled in the United States, with the largest single community being approximately 27,000 in Columbus, Ohio.
Ethnic cleansing in Bhutan refers to acts of violence to remove the Lhotshampa, or ethnic Nepalis, from Bhutan. Inter-ethnic tensions in Bhutan have resulted in the flight of many Lhotshampa to Nepal, many of whom have been expelled by the Bhutanese military. By 1996, over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees were living in refugee camps in Nepal. Many have since resettled in Western countries.
Asian New Zealanders are New Zealanders of Asian ancestry . At the 2023 census, 861,573 New Zealanders identifying as being part of the Asian ethnic group, making up 17.3% of New Zealand's population.
Eritrean Australians are a hyphenated ethnicity of Australians who are of full or partial Eritrean national origin, heritage and/or ancestry. They are immigrants from Eritrea to Australia and their descendants. Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country with the most common ethnic group being the Tigrinya, however Tigrinya speakers are more commonly found in Ethiopia than Eritrea, because of this many Eritreans can be found in Ethiopian communities.
British Bhutanese are people of Bhutanese ancestry who are citizens of the United Kingdom or resident in the country. This includes people born in the UK who are of Bhutanese descent, and Bhutan-born people who have migrated to the UK.
Asian Australian history is the history of Asian ethnic and racial groups in Australia who trace their ancestry to Asia. The term Asian Australian, was first used in the 1950s by European Australians who wanted to strengthen diplomatic and trade ties with Asia for the benefit of the Australian community. The term was not originally used to describe or recognise the experiences of people of Asian descent living in Australia. It was only in the late 1980s and 1990s that the term "Asian Australian" was adopted and used by Asian Australians themselves to discuss issues related to racial vilification and discrimination. Today, the term "Asian Australian" is widely accepted and used to refer to people of Asian descent who are citizens or residents of Australia, though its usage and meaning may vary within the Asian Australian community.
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| History | ||
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Ancestral background of Australian citizens | ||
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