South African Australians
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (South African 145,683 (by birth, 2011 Census) 108,955 (by ancestry, 2011 Census)) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Perth · Melbourne · Sydney · Brisbane · Adelaide | |
| Languages | |
| English · Afrikaans · other South African languages | |
| Religion | |
| Predominately Christianity, followed by Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Zimbabwean Australians, Kenyan British, Afrikaners, British diaspora in Africa, Indian South Africans, South African Americans |
South African Australians are citizens of Australia who are of South African descent.
According to the 2006 Australian census 104,128 Australians were born in South Africa. Also in the Census 79,513 residents claimed South African ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry. Immigration from South Africa to Australia, particularly by professionals, accelerated in the 1990s. The large majority of South African immigrants to Australia have been of British descent; only a very small percentage, around 2-3% have been of Afrikaans origin.
More than half of the South African Australians arrived following the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994. A behaviour stigmatised by white South Africans who remained in their homeland as "Packing for Perth". "Packing for Perth" (and the initials "PFP") was also a humorous dig and reference to supporters of the "Progressive Federal Party" - a political party formed in 1977 that drew support mainly from liberal English-speaking white people, typically, the very people who ended up immigrating.
In 2007-08 4,000 South Africans permanently settled in Australia, a number that is slightly lower than previous years.
Sydney has the largest number of South African-born residents (28,425), followed by Perth (18,828), Melbourne (17,318) and Brisbane (12,821).
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