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Isma (2003) FACT SHEET: Muslim & Arab Australians in South Australia

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FACT SHEET: Muslim & Arab Australians in South Australia

 


1. Muslim Australians

  • Total number of Muslims in Australia: 281,578
  • Total number of Muslims in South Australia: 7,478
  • Proportion of the Australian population who are Muslim: 1.5%
  • Proportion of the Queensland population who are Muslim: 0.5%

*Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2001 Census.

Figure 1: Australian Muslim population by state and territory
Figure 1: Australian Muslim population by state and territory. Click here to text version.

Source: ABS, 2001 Census. Basic Community Snapshots and Profiles.
Click here for text only version.

Table 1: Geographic Distribution of Muslims in Australia, 2001
State/territory
Proportion of all Australian Muslims
Proportion of total state or territory population
New South Wales 50% 2.2%
Victoria 33% 2.0%
Western Australia 7% 1.1%
Queensland 5% 0.4%
South Australia 3% 0.5%
Australian Capital Territory 1% 1.1%
Northern Territory 0.3% 0.5%
Tasmania 0.3% 0.2%
Total
100%
1.5%

Source: ABS, 2001 Census.

Table 2: Distribution of Australian Muslims by major statistical local areas in Adelaide, 2001
Statistical local area Number
Salisbury (C) - South-East 459
Charles Sturt (C) - North-East 451
West Torrens (C) - East 414
Port Adel. Enfield (C) - Port 409
Port Adel. Enfield (C) - Inner 337
Port Adel. Enfield (C) - East 307
Charles Sturt (C) - Inner East 303
Tea Tree Gully (C) - South 295
West Torrens (C) - West 289
Mitcham (C) - West 240
Marion (C) - North 213
Marion (C) - Central 183
Adelaide (C) 160
Campbelltown (C) - West 156
Burnside (C) - North-East 135
Charles Sturt (C) - Inner West 133
Prospect (C) 119
Campbelltown (C) - East 117
Salisbury (C) - Central 114
Norw. P'ham St Ptrs (C) - East 112
Burnside (C) - South-West 102
Onkaparinga (C) - Morphett 98
Onkaparinga (C) - Reservoir 98
Tea Tree Gully (C) - North 96
Charles Sturt (C) - Coastal 95
Unley (C) - East 92
Unley (C) - West 90
Norw. P'ham St Ptrs (C) - West 89
Marion (C) - South 84
Mitcham (C) - Hills 84
Onkaparinga (C) - Woodcroft 79
Salisbury (C) - Inner North 76
Port Adel. Enfield (C) - Coast 74
Holdfast Bay (C) - North 70
Tea Tree Gully (C) - Central 69
Mitcham (C) - North-East 59
Salisbury (C) - North-East 40
Playford (C) - Elizabeth 39
Holdfast Bay (C) - South 34
Walkerville (M) 29
Playford (C) - West 27
Salisbury (C) Bal 27
Onkaparinga (C) - South Coast 26
Playford (C) - West Central 20
Onkaparinga (C) - North Coast 18
Onkaparinga (C) - Hackham 16
Adelaide Hills (DC) - Central 15
Onkaparinga (C) - Hills 12
Playford (C) - East Central 11
Gawler (M) 8
Adelaide Hills (DC) - Ranges 8
Tea Tree Gully (C) - Hills 7
Playford (C) - Hills 6
Total for Adelaide SD 6644

*Source: ABS 2001 Census, Unpublished Data.


2. Arab & Middle-Eastern Australians

Definitions

Defining who is an ‘Arab’ or exactly which countries lie within the Middle East is a complex matter.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) defines the Middle East as: Bahrain, Gaza Strip and West Bank (Palestine), Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. North Africa is defined as: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and the Western Sahara. ‘Arab’ includes: Algerian, Egyptian, Iraqi, Jordanian, Kuwaiti, Lebanese, Libyan, Moroccan, Palestinian, Saudi Arabian, Syrian, Tunisian.

This summary uses ABS definitions and highlights specific countries of origin for a significant number of Australians. These countries are: Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel. Other Middle Eastern, North African and Arab countries with much smaller representation in Australian are grouped into two categories:

  • ‘Other Middle East’ (which includes Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen)
  • ‘Other North Africa’ (which includes Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Mauritania, Djibouti and Western Sahara)

  • Total number of Australians born in the Middle East or North Africa in Australia: 213,940
    (1.1% of the national population)
  • Total number Australians born in the Middle East (5,257) or North Africa (1,544) in South Australia: 6,804 (0.5% of the S.A. state population).

*Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2001 Census.

Note: 3 people did not specify whether they were specifically born in the region of the Middle East or North Africa.

Figure 2: State & territory distribution of Australians born in the Middle East & North Africa, 2001
Figure 1: State & territory distribution of Australians born in the Middle East & North Africa, 2001 . Click here to access text version.

Source: ABS, 2001 Census. Basic Community Profiles and Snapshots.
Click here for text only version.

Table 3: Australians born in the Middle East or North Africa in major statistical areas of Adelaide, 2001
Statistical Local Area
Egypt
Iran
Iraq
Lebanon
Syria
Turkey
Other Middle East
Other North Africa
Total
West Torrens (C) - East
46
54
62
47
7
7
13
48
284
Campbelltown (C) - East
35
76
6
91
6
21
22
24
281
West Torrens (C) - West
46
63
33
23
10
15
4
35
229
Marion (C) - Central
58
64
7
49
9
18
18
6
229
Port Adel. Enfield (C) - Inner
20
19
56
65
3
8
9
37
217
Mitcham (C) - West
23
65
0
89
14
15
3
5
214
Salisbury (C) - South-East
33
14
20
102
18
8
12
3
210
Port Adel. Enfield (C) - East
21
69
22
38
0
18
23
14
205
Tea Tree Gully (C) - South
21
16
29
92
3
14
15
11
201
Onkaparinga (C) - Woodcroft
46
86
11
34
0
6
6
3
192
Burnside (C) - North-East
26
69
5
48
0
19
9
7
183
Charles Sturt (C) - North-East
26
21
28
71
6
4
15
10
181
Marion (C) - South
53
67
7
13
0
5
21
5
171
Onkaparinga (C) - Morphett
25
51
5
54
3
5
4
4
151
Onkaparinga (C) - Reservoir
10
94
0
19
5
6
7
4
145
Burnside (C) - South-West
28
39
4
49
0
0
9
6
135
Campbelltown (C) - West
30
22
0
52
3
17
7
3
134
Marion (C) - North
35
24
10
35
0
11
10
7
132
Charles Sturt (C) - Inner West
35
9
6
26
4
15
13
21
129
Prospect (C)
18
20
16
20
3
14
4
32
127
Norw. P'ham St Ptrs (C) - East
18
38
5
16
0
31
9
10
127
Charles Sturt (C) - Inner East
18
28
21
15
10
13
4
13
122
Mitcham (C) - Hills
19
35
3
47
3
4
7
3
121
Charles Sturt (C) - Coastal
47
24
7
13
3
9
11
3
117
Salisbury (C) - Central
21
4
0
54
9
11
8
7
114
Adelaide (C)
14
29
11
13
3
15
17
9
111
Tea Tree Gully (C) - North
19
38
4
4
11
16
11
0
103
Tea Tree Gully (C) - Central
5
25
4
36
17
0
6
3
96
Port Adel. Enfield (C) - Port
6
22
17
27
0
6
3
15
96
Unley (C) - East
15
38
3
15
0
6
7
0
84
Norw. P'ham St Ptrs (C) - West
19
17
5
6
3
15
3
10
78
Salisbury (C) - North-East
6
0
7
38
4
3
10
3
71
Total
1021
1389
429
1430
171
429
397
399
5665

*Source: ABS, 2001 Census, Unpublished data.

Note: Columns do not total as data provided for select SLAs.


Race Discrimination Unit, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, July 2003. ABS data used with permission from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.