Australians
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 24.5 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Australia
|
23,534,699 |
 United Kingdom
|
400,000 |
 Thailand
|
350,000 |
 United States
|
94,000–200,000 |
 Hong Kong
|
90,000 |
 New Zealand
|
70,000 |
 Canada
|
62,910 |
 Indonesia
|
55,000 |
 Italy
|
30,000 |
 Lebanon
|
20,000–25,000 |
| Languages | |
| English · Other minority languages | |
| Religion | |
|
Christianity (Protestantism, Roman Catholicism) Other minority religions |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
Australians (/əˈstreɪljənz/), colloquially known as Aussies (/ɒziːz/), are people associated with Australia, sharing a common history, culture, and language (Australian English). Present-day Australians are citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia, governed by its nationality law.
The majority of Australians descend from the peoples of the British Isles. The Colony of New South Wales was established by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1788, with the arrival of the First Fleet, and five other colonies were established in the early 19th century, now forming the six present-day Australian states. Many early settlements were penal colonies, and transported convicts (and, later, ex-convicts) made up a significant proportion of the population in most colonies. Large-scale immigration did not occur until the 1850s, following a series of gold rushes. Further waves of immigration occurred after the First and Second World Wars, with many post-World War II migrants coming from southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East, south and east Asia, and the Pacific islands. Prior to British settlement, Australia was inhabited by various indigenous peoples – Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal Tasmanians, and Torres Strait Islanders, a Melanesian people. A small percentage of present-day Australians descend from these peoples.
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