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, 22.8% (912) of people in Mackay were born overseas, compared with 11.8% in Mackay (R). A further 59.9% (2,392) of people were born in Australia.
Section overview
Birthplace - Ranked by size
Mackay - Overseas born (Usual residence)
This table summarises birthplace for Mackay in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mackay (R) and change since 2016.
Birthplace - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Mackay, with comparison markers for Mackay (R).
Not stated
Philippines
New Zealand
India
England
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
Thailand
Nepal
Malaysia
Vietnam
Chart view
Birthplace - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Not stated
+195
+3.7pp
Philippines
-34
-1.6pp
New Zealand
+8
-0.1pp
India
+4
-0.1pp
England
-4
-0.3pp
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
+11
+0.2pp
Thailand
+12
+0.3pp
Nepal
+13
+0.3pp
Malaysia
+15
+0.4pp
Vietnam
+2
0.0pp
Data table
Birthplace for Mackay. Birthplace - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mackay (R).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Mackay (R)% | Count | % | Mackay (R)% | Count | pp | |
| Not stated | 691 | 17.3% | 9.2% | 496 | 13.6% | 8.6% | +195 | +3.7pp |
| Philippines | 241 | 6.0% | 1.6% | 275 | 7.6% | 1.4% | -34 | -1.6pp |
| New Zealand | 117 | 2.9% | 2.3% | 109 | 3.0% | 2.5% | +8 | -0.1pp |
| India | 99 | 2.5% | 0.6% | 95 | 2.6% | 0.5% | +4 | -0.1pp |
| England | 73 | 1.8% | 1.8% | 77 | 2.1% | 1.9% | -4 | -0.3pp |
| China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) | 36 | 0.9% | 0.2% | 25 | 0.7% | 0.2% | +11 | +0.2pp |
| Thailand | 32 | 0.8% | 0.2% | 20 | 0.5% | 0.2% | +12 | +0.3pp |
| Nepal | 29 | 0.7% | 0.1% | 16 | 0.4% | 0.1% | +13 | +0.3pp |
| Malaysia | 26 | 0.7% | 0.1% | 11 | 0.3% | 0.1% | +15 | +0.4pp |
| Vietnam | 19 | 0.5% | 0.1% | 17 | 0.5% | 0.1% | +2 | 0.0pp |
Excludes countries of birth with fewer than 10 people.