Census 2016: Presenting a profile of the Punjabi community in Australia

According to the latest Census data, the fast-growing Punjabi community of Australia comprises newly-arrived, young, predominantly male members, most of whom were born in India and follow the Sikh religion.

Over 90 percent of Punjabi speakers stated that they speak English very well or well Source: SBS Punjabi

Similar to Census 2011, the latest data released by Australian Bureau of Statistics confirms that Punjabi remains one of the fastest growing languages of Australia. Not only is it among the top 10 of the most spoken languages of Australia, but in large cities like Melbourne, it ts the seventh most popular language after English, with  nearly with nearly 1.2% of Melbourne’s population saying, they speak Punjabi at home.

There are more males than females in the Punjabi population of Australia, although the largest majority of them fall in the age group 25-34 years.

According to the latest censue, almost 30 per cent of Punjabi women don't have any gainful employment and earn 'nil income'. This is similar to the census data released in 2011, which revealed that one in three Punjabi women didn't earn any income at all.

Victoria boasts of 40 per cent of Australia’s Punjabi population, with NSW coming next, followed by Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, ACT, Northern Territory and finally Tasmania.  

Nearly 10 per cent of people living in Craigieburn in Victoria are Punjabi speakers, making this the most popular suburb for Punjabis in Australia. According to Census 2016, 3,937 Punjabi speakers live in Craigieburn, followed by the NSW suburb of Blacktown, where 3,243 Punjabis reside, or 8.1% of people in that suburb. To explore how many Punjabi speakers live in your state or suburb, use the following tool from SBS Census explorer

Four out of five Punjabis in Australia were born in India, and belong to the Sikh faith.

To find out more about the Punjabi community in Australia, please click on the audio feature above (audio is in Punjabi), or visit SBS Census Explorer and search for the data yourself. Just visit sbs.com.au/punjabi, click on SBS Census Explorer, and find out more...