The graph illustrates how the proportion of people living in Australia who were born in different countries around the world, including: Asia, the UK, and other regions changed over a 35 – year period from 1976 to 2011.
Overall, it can be seen that the percentages of Australian people whose home countries were overseas had a significant fluctuation. In particular, the rate of the UK decreased gradually from 1976 to 2011.
Looking at the line graph, the proportion of total was the highest at around 23% in 1946. However, it was decreasing by 4% from 1976 to 2001 before recovering to 25% in 2011. Meanwhile, the UK recorded the highest figure of immigrants to Australia in 1976, with approximately 13%. Over the following 15 years, the UK had a plummet from 14% to 5%, with the lowest rate in 2011.
In contrast to the fall of the UK, the percentage of Asia was increasing over the 35 years. In 1976, Asia registered the lowest proportion among the 4 categories at 6%. Nevertheless, there was a sharp growth in the figure of Asia and it overtook the percentage of the UK, reaching a peak of 15%. Conversely, the figure of people born in other areas was falling from 11% to 7% between 1976 and 1991 and it was increasing sharply by 10% during a 20-year period beginning from 1991 onwards.