South African Australians


South African Australians are citizens or residents of Australia who are of South African descent.
According to the 2021 Australian census, 189,207 Australian residents were born in South Africa, making up 0.7% of the country's population. In addition, 144,666 people born in Australia claim South African ancestry, making up 0.6% of the total population. A strong majority of South African Australians are Australian citizens, with 76% possessing Australian citizenship. In the same 2021 census, 144,666 Australian residents claimed "South African" ancestry while another 6,153 stated their ancestry as "Afrikaner" and 501 as "Zulu".
Immigration from South Africa to Australia, particularly by professionals, accelerated in the 1990s. More than half of the South African Australians arrived following the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994. A behaviour stigmatised by white South Africans who remained in their homeland as "Packing for Perth" was also a humorous dig and reference to supporters of the Progressive Federal Party – a political party formed in 1977 that drew support mainly from liberal English-speaking white people.
As per 2021 census, 60% of Australians who are born in South Africa, claimed English, Dutch, German and Scottish ancestry, while only 40% claimed "South African" as an ancestry.

Notable people