<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For the first time in our nation's history, England has been knocked out of top spot when it comes to Australian </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/immigration" rel="" target="_blank" title="migration"><span>migration</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics have revealed that Indian-born residents now make up the largest percentage of the 8.33 million Australians who were born overseas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Before 2025, English-born residents sat at number one in front of those born in India, China, New Zealand and the Philippines.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/life-and-career-after-redundancy-natasha-ciesielski/dd153cff-e437-470f-a3e6-92f9b7872121" target="_blank" title="Natasha is leaving her 9 to 5 career behind after being made redundant twice"><strong><span>Natasha is leaving her 9 to 5 career behind after being made redundant twice</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As of 30 June 2025, the four most common countries of birth were India at 971,020, England at 970,950, China at 732,000 and New Zealand at 638,000.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The data also showed the overseas born population had grown at a faster rate of 3 per cent a year compared to the Australian-born population which grew at an average of 1 per cent a year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In twenty years from 2005, the percentage of Australian residents born overseas has risen from 24.2 per cent to 32 per cent in 2025.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/england-is-no-longer-australias-top-overseas-country-of-birth/0ff1cc9e-3f9f-4d6a-8dd3-1344379a98d3" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Proportions have fluctuated during certain eras such as decreased migration during WWI, the Great Depression and WWII.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The new statistics show that 32 per cent of the overall Australian population are people born overseas, meeting the high levels of migration in 1891 towards the end of the gold rush era.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>From the 1970s to 2020 there was a stable increase over the years, until 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic caused travel restrictions, impacting people moving to and from Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When restrictions were lifted in 2023, the proportion of people born overseas exceeded a 30 per cent increase for the first time since 1893.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The current Australian migration debate centres on reducing high post-pandemic immigration to ease housing pressure, with surveys showing 49 per cent of people favouring such a decrease.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Immigration Minister Tony Burke said in a press conference earlier this month that "post-COVID, we had the sharpest increase".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/london-stabbing-anti-semitic-attack-golders-green-jewish-community/45810fcc-294c-451b-a95a-eaf7c6e924ae" target="" title=""><strong><span>UK PM condemns London stabbing, declared a terrorist incident</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And since then, we've been having, with the exception of COVID, the sharpest decrease," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Bourke said the government was making sure numbers got to "sustainable levels again".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But in doing that "you need to make sure that you don't wreck your aged care system".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You need to make sure that we don't end up with our farmers not being able to get people to pick their fruit," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"All of these things are essential to Australia's economy."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was part of Burke's strong defence of migration following the Coalition's recent proposal to overhaul Australia's migration policy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Australia is and should always be a country where we judge you by who you are, not where you're from."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"People say they love Australia and I do, and almost everybody on this continent does, modern Australia is what they're loving, and we are a multicultural nation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Half of our doctors are born overseas, 43 per cent of our registered nurses are born overseas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Twenty-eight per cent of people working in building and plumbing trades are born overseas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"What matters is who you are, not where you're from, and effectively, if we forget the benefits to our nation and to our economy of having a smart tailored migration system, we end up with fewer homes, we would end up with a health system that would collapse.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We would end up with an age care system that could not provide the care that it needs and that all Australians rely on.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are a good country and we should not be setting people against each other."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="" 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