For the first time in history, Indians have surpassed English immigrants to become Australia's largest immigrant group. This development underscores the growing political controversy surrounding immigration.
According to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 971,020 Australians, or 5.2% of the population, were born in India, just overtaking the 970,950 born in England. The number of people born in England decreased from little more than one million in 2013.
With 732,000, Chinese-born people make up the third-largest cohort, followed by New Zealanders (638,000).With the exception of a temporary slowdown during the pandemic, migration has long been a crucial pillar of Australia's economic growth, helping the nation escape recession since the early 1990s. International border closures caused the population to decline in 2021, but since then, the percentage of people who were born abroad has increased annually, reaching 32% in 2025 from 29.5% in 2022, according to the ABS.

As Australia struggles with its biggest housing scarcity in a generation, immigration has also become a political issue. Since the election last year, support for the populist One Nation party has increased due to the issue. Pauline Hanson, its leader, has spent decades advocating against immigration.