Macedonian Australian - Demography

Demography

In the 2006 Census, 40,656 Australian residents are listed as having been born in the Republic of Macedonia. A total of 83,978 residents declared their ancestry as Macedonian, either alone or in combination with another ancestry. As at 2006 the Macedonian language is spoken at home by 67,833 residents. In 2001 the Republic of Macedonia was the 26th most common birthplace in Australia.

Australian cities with the largest Macedonian-born communities are Melbourne (17,286, in particular the outer suburbs), Sydney (11,630, in particular in the Southern) and Wollongong (4,279 - about 1.6% of the Wollongong population).

In 2001, 81,898 people claimed Macedonian Ancestry, in 2006 this rose to 83,978 in 2006. Macedonian was the 21st most common Ancestry group. Of the total number who claimed Macedonian ancestry in 2001 39,244 or 47.9% were born in the Republic of Macedonia, 35,805 or 43.7% were born in Australia, 2,919 or 3.6% were born in Greece and roughly 5% were born elsewhere.

Most Macedonian Australians are of the Orthodox Christian faith, although there is a small number of Muslims and Methodists. 36,749 Macedonian-born Australian residents declared they were Christian, and 2,161 stated they were Muslim. In 2001 there were a total of 53,249 adherents to the Macedonian Orthodox Church. 28,474 or 53.5% of these were born in the Republic of Macedonia, 21,324 or 40% were born in Australia, 1,340 or 2.5% were born in Greece and roughly 4% were born elsewhere.