Sudanese Australian

Sudanese Australian

Total population
Sudanese 17,848 (by ancestry, 2006) 19,049 (by birth, 2006).
Regions with significant populations
Victoria 5,911 New South Wales 5,335 Western Australia 1,993
Religion
Christianity (84%), Islam (13%)

Sudanese Australians are people of Sudanese (Sudan and South Sudan) ancestry or birth who live in Australia. In the 2006 census, there were 19,049 Sudanese-born Australian residents, making up 0.1% of the population. Many of the Sudanese-born people recorded in the 2006 Australian census had arrived very recently: 77% since 2000. Between 1996 and 2005, the largest increase in Australian people born overseas were Sudanese, at 28% per year. Other fast-growing overseas-born groups were people from Afghanistan (12% average increase per year) and Iraq (10%). Australian residents from sub-Saharan Africa increased on average by 6% per year over this period.

On the 2006 Census 17,848 residents in Australia claimed to have Sudanese ancestry. People of Sudanese descent now live in almost every capital city in Australia, particularly Melbourne (5,911), Sydney (5,335) and Perth (1,993)

Brief history

Permanent settlers arriving in Australia from Sudan each month since 1991

Sudanese people have been migrating to Australia since 1965, although on very small scale. Only 948 Sudanese-born persons came prior to 1990.^{[citation needed]} The first major wave of Sudanese emigrants arrived in Australia during the 1990s. The second major wave arrived in the early 2000s. The Dinka make up the largest Sudanese ethnic group in Australia. Other ethnic groups within the Sudanese Australian community include the Nuer, the Shilluk, and the Azande.There are also Ma'adi, Acholi and otuho from Eastern Equatoria-South Sudan.

Early migration

Before the First Sudanese Civil War, most Sudanese migrants arrived in Australia to pursue educational opportunities in both undergraduate and post graduate institutions across Australia. Almost all of these immigrants came from the various ethnic groups in the southern part of the country.^{[citation needed]}

After the first civil war

Main article: First Sudanese Civil War

A larger influx of Sudanese emigrated to Australia as a result of political and economic problems. The most noticeable exodus occurred among professional and middle class Sudanese who along with their children took advantage of education and employment opportunities in Australia to emigrate.^{[citation needed]}

After the second civil war

Main article: Second Sudanese Civil War

Since 1983, fighting between Sudan's Northern government and the rebels in the south has killed about 2 million people. The fighting in Sudan has interfered with the production and distribution of food and caused widespread hunger. Many civilians in southern Sudan had fled their region because of this crisis. Some Sudanese Australians returned to their ancestral homeland when the conflict officially ended in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Social issues faced by Sudanese Australians

It has been reported that, due to corruption in Sudan, Australian Sudanese people may distrust authority figures in Australia. The relatively free availability of alcoholic drinks in Australia, in contrast to its strict prohibition in Sudan, has resulted in problems in the Australian Sudanese community with binge drinking. Alcohol was reported as being a significant factor in brawls involving Sudanese Australians in the Melbourne suburbs of Clayton, Braybrook and Ringwood.

See also

• African Australian
• Sudanese American
• Sudanese British
• St Bakhita Centre

External links

• Sudanese Stories - An oral history project recording the migration journeys and settlement experiences of southern Sudanese refugees now living in Blacktown, Western Sydney.
• Australian Migration ABS migration statistics