A maintained factbase from official statistics. Two measures are kept in separate columns throughout, country of birth counts only those born there; ancestry counts everyone who identifies with the group, including the Australian-born, because conflating them is the commonest error in this data.
The recurring question
How large is Australia's African-origin population, which countries does it come from, where in Australia does it live, and which communities are growing fastest?
Country of birth (2021 Census)
| Country | 2021 | 2016 | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 189,207 | 162,448 | +16.5% |
| Zimbabwe | 39,714 | 34,788 | +14.2% |
| Mauritius | 25,981 | 24,328 | +6.8% |
| Kenya | 22,348 | 17,652 | +26.6% |
| Sudan* | 16,609 | 17,032 | −2.5% |
| Ethiopia | 14,092 | 11,795 | +19.5% |
| Nigeria | 12,883 | 8,493 | +51.7% |
| South Sudan | 8,255 | 7,694 | +7.3% |
| Somalia | 8,101 | 7,671 | +5.6% |
| Zambia | 6,847 | 6,237 | +9.8% |
| Ghana | 6,322 | 5,287 | +19.6% |
| DR Congo | 6,148 | 4,099 | +50.0% |
| Eritrea | 5,629 | 4,300 | +30.9% |
| Tanzania | 4,371 | 3,830 | +14.1% |
| Uganda | 4,163 | 3,376 | +23.3% |
Summed across these communities: ~370,700 (or ~354,000 on a strict sub-Saharan definition excluding Sudan). This is a sum of the listed communities, not an official ABS aggregate, the ABS publishes no "sub-Saharan Africa" total, and smaller states sit below the display threshold.
Source: ABS 2021 Census, Country of Birth QuickStats (Census night 10 Aug 2021). * ABS classifies Sudan under North Africa.
Ancestry
Ancestry counts run larger than birthplace because they include the Australian-born. Total sub-Saharan African ancestry responses: 326,673 (1.3% of the population). Larger single groups include South African (144,666), Mauritian (~36,458), Zimbabwean (~22,549), Somali (18,401) and South Sudanese (~14,273). (Source: ABS Cultural diversity of Australia, Census 2021. Some community ancestry totals are single-sourced, verify against the ABS summary before quoting a precise figure.)
Where they settle
- Western Australia has the highest per-capita African share of any state, 2.61%. Victoria has the largest absolute numbers.
- By state (sub-Saharan ancestry): Victoria 90,640 · NSW 75,942 · WA 66,744 · Queensland 64,112 · SA 17,607.
- The pattern splits by origin. South African, Zimbabwean and Kenyan communities lean toward Perth; the East-African communities cluster hard in Melbourne, Ethiopia-born ~55% in Victoria, Somalia-born ~54%, and South Sudanese concentrated in Melbourne's west (Wyndham, Melton).
What is growing
Fastest growth 2016→2021: Nigeria +51.7%, DR Congo +50.0%, Eritrea +30.9%, Kenya +26.6%, Uganda +23.3%. South Africa added the most people in absolute terms (+26,759) on an already-large base.