The biggest change to Australia’s demographic make-up is those with non-English speaking background, now making up 21 per cent of the overall population. That’s up from 15 per cent in 1996 and includes a significant boost in migrants from China and India.
In 1966, the combined immigration from India and China was 1.6 per cent. In 2016, it was 15 per cent.
“There’s a fivefold increase in 20 years in Mandarin speakers,” Mr Capuano says.
It reflects what University of Melbourne multilingualism expert John Hajek calls “the massive shift from European to Asian languages”.
This week's Anatomy of Australian Education examines the trends in linguistic demography in Australia.
