26 percent Australian population is foreign-born

This is the result of higher rates of immigration into Australia since the last six decades.

As per the figures by ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics), every one out of four Australians happens to be born overseas and it is also revealed that Australia’s next PM (Prime Minister) will also be overseas-born, no matter whosoever wins the Federal elections.

In the late 1960s, John Gorton, the then PM of Australia was overseas-born. At that time, every one out of five Australians was foreign-born.

Australia had almost 26.5 percent of the population born overseas and this is regarded to be the highest since 1901. 
In the year 1947, nearly 90 percent of the total population of Australia was exclusively Australian-born. However, it was only after the Second World War when Australia encouraged immigration at massive scales by inviting migrants hailing from Europe to immigrate to Australia. This resulted in immigration of Europeans into Australia in large numbers (hundreds of thousands).

As per the figures by ABS for the year 2008-09, number of foreign-born population in Australia went up by 271,360 while the increase in Australian-born population was by 185,360. In other terms, Australian-born population increased by 1.2 percent while foreign-born population in Australia increased by 5 percent.

And out of the total immigrants living in Australia, nearly two-thirds were in the age group between 15-34 years, the ABS maintains. 
Indian-born population registered an increase of 44,012(17 percent) while a rise of 30,009 immigrants (9 percent) hailing from China was seen. Chinese became the biggest non-Anglo people community living in Australia, the figures for the mid-2009 reveal. Chinese left Indians behind as the number of India-born immigrants in Australian population was 308,542 in the year 2009.

China and India took third and fourth place from Italy and Vietnam respectively in the last decade.

Meanwhile, immigrants hailing from Britain account for largest number of single overseas-born people in Australia. Presently, Australian population includes nearly 5.4 percent of immigrants born in the UK while New Zealand accounts for 2.4 percent of immigrants in Australian population who were born in New Zealand.