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| Map of Australia, atlas |
A large community of Albanians lives in distant Australia. Located mainly in several cities such as Victoria, Melbourne, Mareeba and Dangedong they have been well integrated into Australian society but always preserving and inheriting the culture and tradition of their country of origin. This is also thanks to the work of the Albanian associations that have been established and function within the communities.
But when we talk about immigration, the question always arises: How many?
How many Albanians live on the Australian continent?
The answer to this question can be found in the Australian Census conducted in 2021, the results of which were published a few days ago.
According to Census data on cultural diversity in Australia, there are 3,633 Albanians who were born in Albania but moved to Australia after 2016. (Australia conducts the Census every 5 years, the last one was conducted in 2016). The age group that has emigrated the most is 30-34 years old. There are 528 Albanians of this age who have chosen Australia as their home. Next is the 35-39 age group, 520 Albanians, as Diaspora Shqiptare reports.
Age: 40-44 years, 436 Albanians
Age: 45-49, 350 Albanians
Age: 50-54, 266 Albanians
Age: 55-59, 218 Albanians
Age: 60-64, 209 Albanians
Age: 65-69, years old, 179 Albanians
Age: 70-74, 118 Albanians
Age: 76-79 years, 82 Albanians
Age: 80-84, 85 Albanians
Age: over 85 years, 77
Meanwhile, for younger ages, the number of Albanians is smaller. The census recorded only 9 children aged 0-4, 23 aged 5-9, 27 aged 10-14 and 43 aged 15-19.
Regarding citizenship, there are 2,501 Albanians who have received an Australian passport, while 1,082 have not received citizenship for various reasons.
These figures refer only to Albanians who were born in Albania but moved to Australia in recent years.
Since Albanians have moved to Australia in different periods, the Census has also included Albanians who were born on that continent but are originally from Albanian lands.
According to the data in the "Ancestry by state and territory" category, there are 2,323 Albanians living in New South Wales, 1,702 in Queensland, 1,348 in South Australia, 1,166 in Western Australia, 101 in Tasmania, 33 in the Northern Territory and 153 in the Australian Capital Territory."
The largest number of inhabitants of Albanian origin is found in Victoria, where 12,853 people are registered.
According to the final Census statistics, there are 19,686 residents of Australia who are of Albanian origin.
Another interesting data that is reflected in the Census is the use of the mother tongue. Thus, according to the data, there are 988 Albanian speakers in South Wales, 601 in Queensland, 767 in South Australia, 486 in Western Australia, 11 in Tasmania, 16 in the Northern Territory, and 85 in the Australian Capital Territory.
Here, too, the largest number of inhabitants who communicate in the Albanian language is found in Victoria, where 7,894 speakers of the Albanian language are registered.
Compared with the nationality determination data in the 1933 census in Victoria where 249 people. The increase in the number of Albanians in Victoria began after the Second World War, due to the establishment in Albania of the new communist regime that took power in 1944. These two factors caused the Albanian population to increase to 651 in 1947. The population continued to grow steadily until it reached its peak in 1961 when 753 Albanians are registered. The population declined slowly during the 1970s and by 1986 there were only 557 Albanian-born Victorians.
In the 1990s, the number of Albanians began to grow again at a slow rate, as the unrest in Kosovo continued to grow. By 1996 the numbers had risen to 653.
Approximately 4,000 Albanians were temporarily evacuated to Australia in 1999. A number were able to settle permanently in Victoria, which was reflected in an increase of almost 30% in the 2001 census.
The 2016 census recorded 1,681 Albanian-born Victorians, making up 58% of the total Albanian-born population in Australia.