Facts and statistics

Click on a topic below for more information about:

• the number of people who become Australian citizens each year and where they come from
• the number of clients who have sat the citizenship test and the pass rates.

Australian citizenship statistics

More than 4 million people have become citizens since Australian citizenship was introduced in 1949.

Some 95 per cent of the population are Australian citizens.

Former nationality or citizenship

In 1949, during the inaugural year of the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948, Australian citizenship was granted to 2 493 people from just over 35 different nationalities. The top 5 nationalities (and number of grants) at that time according to the Australian Yearbook 1953, ABS were:

• Italian (708)
• Polish (597)
• Greek (276)
• German (225)
• Yugoslav (80)

In 2008-09, 118 196 people were approved to become Australian citizens by conferral, descent and resumption.

A total of 86 981 people from more than 185 countries were conferred with Australian citizenship at ceremonies in 2008-09. (Note: this figure includes people who were approved for conferral in the previous program year but still had to attend a citizenship ceremony to officially become Australian citizens). Similarly, some people approved for conferral in 2008-09 may attend a citizenship ceremony during the 2009-10 program year.

The table below lists the top 10 previous citizenships of people who became Australian citizens by conferral at ceremonies during 2008-09.

Australian citizenship test statistics

A detailed report on citizenship tests, including the number of clients who have sat the test and the pass rates, is available by clicking the link immediately below. The data in the September 2009 report relates to Australian citizenship tests administered by the department between 1 July and 30 September 2009.
See: Australian Citizenship Test Snapshot Report (768KB PDF file)