As the Australian Bureau of Statistics began releasing 2016 Census figures in tranches this week, a clearer snapshot is emerging about the religious affiliations of Australians, among other trends.
Hinduism has emerged as the fourth largest religion of the nation, with 440,300 people stating that they follow it. This equates to nearly 2 per cent of the Australian population belonging to the Hindu faith and represents a growth of roughly 150 per cent over 10 years.
New South Wales is by far the state of choice for most Hindus of Australia, with 181,402 calling it home. This is followed by Victoria, where 134,939 Hindus reside, Queensland comes third with 45,961 living there, followed by Western Australia, with 38,739 Hindu residents. South Australia has 22,922 Hindus, ACT comes next with 10,208, followed by Northern Territory with 3,562 and Tasmania with 2,554.
Emerging religions of Australia, as revealed in Census 2016 stats Source: ABS
A map of the number of Hindus in Australia, as collated by SBS Punjabi, from the recently released ABS data Source: SBS Punjabi
Islam is the second largest religion of Australia, after Christianity, followed by Buddhism and Hinduism. But interestingly, in at least four states and territories of Australia, the Hindus outnumber Muslims.
The states and territories which have a greater population of Hindus as compared to Muslims are Queensland, ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania.
As for Islam, the religion has grown by 0.4 per cent over the last five years, and Australia now has 604,200 Muslims. This accounts for 2.6 per cent of the Australian population. State-wise, there are 267,659 Muslims in NSW, 197,030 in Victoria, 50,649 in Western Australia, 44,885 in Queensland, 28,547 in South Australia, 9,864 in ACT, 2,498 in Tasmania and 2,335 in Northern Territory.
The data shows, that while the numbers identifying with Christianity had an overall decline, it remains the top religion across all denominations. More than half of all Australians still identify themselves as Christian, and religious leaders say it does not necessarily mean people are losing faith.
Christianity is also the top religion amongst Australians born overseas. It is also interesting to note that the percentage of people who don't align themselves with any religion is very similar between Australian born and overseas born people. Of all the migrants born overseas and currently living in Australia, 47.3 % are Christian, 21.3 % follow a different religion (other than Christianity), and 27.1% have no religious affiliation.
ABS has also released stats about religious affiliations by states, which show that Victoria and New South Wales are home to the greatest proportion of people who follow another religion apart from Christianity. This is evident from the fact that the largest proportion of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs live in Victoria and NSW.
SBS Punjabi has collated the state-by-state data for Sikhs in Australia as well, and whilst Hinduism and Islam have most followers residing in New South Wales, Victoria is home to most Sikhs in Australia. Here is a snapshot of the Sikh community of Australia - showing their population in various states and territories in Australia.
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Religion for those born in Australia and overseas, as recorded in Census 2016 Source: ABS
Religions followed in various states of Australia Source: ABS
A state by state breakdown of the number of Sikhs in Australia, based on Census 2016 data Source: SBS Punjabi
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