Cultural diversity
Birthplace
About this topic
Birthplace records the country in which a person was born. It is a core measure of migration history and cultural diversity and helps distinguish Australia-born and overseas-born populations.
This topic is useful for understanding settlement patterns and the likely language, service, and support needs of different communities. It should be interpreted together with ancestry, language used at home, and religion for a fuller view of cultural diversity.
Interpretation notes
- Country of birth measures birthplace only; it does not capture ancestry, ethnicity, or current citizenship on its own.
- Use birthplace with ancestry and language when interpreting cultural background, because many cultural groups include both Australia-born and overseas-born people.
Key insight
In 2021, 19.5% (411) of people in Freshwater (Qld) were born overseas, compared with 22.3% in Cairns (R). A further 76.9% (1,620) of people were born in Australia.
Section overview
Birthplace - Ranked by size
Freshwater (Qld) - Overseas born (Usual residence)
This table summarises birthplace for Freshwater (Qld) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Cairns (R) and change since 2016.
Birthplace - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Freshwater (Qld), with comparison markers for Cairns (R).
England
Not stated
New Zealand
Japan
Papua New Guinea
Germany
Scotland
South Africa
United States of America
Switzerland
Chart view
Birthplace - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
England
-10
-0.7pp
Not stated
-15
-0.9pp
New Zealand
-16
-0.9pp
Japan
+8
+0.3pp
Papua New Guinea
0
-0.1pp
Germany
+5
+0.2pp
Scotland
-3
-0.2pp
South Africa
+5
+0.3pp
United States of America
+1
0.0pp
Data table
Birthplace for Freshwater (Qld). Birthplace - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Cairns (R)% | Count | % | Cairns (R)% | Count | pp | |
| England | 113 | 5.4% | 3.9% | 123 | 6.1% | 3.9% | -10 | -0.7pp |
| Not stated | 77 | 3.7% | 8.6% | 92 | 4.6% | 9.7% | -15 | -0.9pp |
| New Zealand | 49 | 2.3% | 2.8% | 65 | 3.2% | 3.1% | -16 | -0.9pp |
| Japan | 36 | 1.7% | 1.0% | 28 | 1.4% | 1.1% | +8 | +0.3pp |
| Papua New Guinea | 26 | 1.2% | 1.4% | 26 | 1.3% | 1.5% | 0 | -0.1pp |
| Germany | 23 | 1.1% | 0.7% | 18 | 0.9% | 0.7% | +5 | +0.2pp |
| Scotland | 17 | 0.8% | 0.4% | 20 | 1.0% | 0.4% | -3 | -0.2pp |
| South Africa | 16 | 0.8% | 0.5% | 11 | 0.5% | 0.5% | +5 | +0.3pp |
| United States of America | 11 | 0.5% | 0.4% | 10 | 0.5% | 0.4% | +1 | 0.0pp |
| Switzerland | 10 | 0.5% | 0.1% | - | - | 0.1% | - | - |
Excludes countries of birth with fewer than 10 people.