With thanks from: www.advance.org

1. THE REAL STORY : THE
AUSTRALIAN DIASPORA, ITS
SIZE, NATURE AND
SIGNIFICANCE
by
Graeme Hugo
Federation Fellow
Professor of Geography and
Director of the National Centre for Social Applications of GIS
The University of Adelaide
Presentation to Advance : Global Australian Professionals, Board Room,
Australian Mission to the United Nations, New York
3rd
May 2006

2. Outline of Presentation
• Introduction
• What is a Diaspora?
• Measuring Australia’s Diaspora
• The Scale of the Diaspora
• Who are the Diaspora?
• What Linkages do they Maintain with Australia
• The Significance of Diaspora
• Policy
• Conclusion

3. Traditional concepts of the diaspora
refer to expatriate communities,
often in exile and tightly connected
by tight bonds of a common religion,
ethnicity and/or nationality.

4. Four Defining Criteria of the
Modern Diaspora
Source: Butler 2001, 192
• Scattering of two or more destinations
• Relationship with an actual or imagined
homeland
• Common group identity
• Existence across two generations

5. The New International Migration
• Increasing scale and diversity
• Now involves most nations – globalisation,
internationalisation
• Increasing circulation Vs settlement
• Increasing transnationalism
• High degree of selectivity, bifurcation
• The brain drain phenomenon, brain
circulation

6. What is the National Population?
Diagrammatic Representation of a National
Population

7. National Diasporas in Relation to Resident National
Populations
Source: US Census Bureau, 2002a and b; Southern Cross, 2002; Bedford, 2001; Ministry of External Affairs, India,
http://indiandiaspora.nic.in; Naseem, 1998; Sahoo, 2002; Iguchi, 2004; Gutièrrez, 1999; Dimzon, 2005; Asian Migration
News, 15-31 January 2006; OECD
USA: 7 million – 2.5 percent of national population
Australia: 900,000 – 4.3 percent of national population
New Zealand: 850,000 – 21.9 percent of national population
Philippines: 7.5 million – 9.0 percent of national population
India: 20 million – 1.9 percent of national population
Pakistan: 4 million – 2.8 percent of national population
China: 30 to 40 million – 2.9 percent of national population
Japan: 873,641 – 0.7 percent of national population
Mexico: 19 million* – 19 percent of national population
Singapore 100-150,000 – 3.5 percent of national population
Niue 5,884 – 294.2 percent of national population
Tokelau 2,019 – 138.5 percent of national population
Samoa 78,253 – 44.5 percent of national population
Fiji 128,284 – 15.8 percent of national population
* Mexican diaspora in the U.S.

8. Expatriates as a Percentage of all
Native-born, OECD Countries
Source: Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 10

9. Diaspora and Development
• Reports by World Bank, Asia Development Bank,
DIFD, IOM, etc.
• Positive effects of emigration on destination
areas especially Less Developed Nations.
• Remittances USBillion $130 (300)
• Return Migration
• Investment
• Beachheads
• Networks

10. Australia: A Country of
Immigration
• 23 percent born overseas
• One fifth Australia-born with an overseas-born
parent(s)
• 590,566 persons temporarily present at 30/6/04
• 289,300 with the right to work
• 345,761 given temporary residence in 2002-03
• 111,590 incoming permanent settlers in 2003-04

11. Measuring Diaspora
• Stocks
• Flows

12. Measuring the Diaspora : Flows
• Emigration Data
• Not collected by most nations
• Differentiating permanent, long term
and short term

13. Permanent Departures of Australia-Born and Overseas-Born Persons from
Australia, 1959-60 to 2004-05
Source: DIMIA, Australian Immigration Consolidated Statistics and Immigration Update, various issues; DIMIA unpublished data
Australian Resident Long Term Departures from Australia, 1959-60 to 2004-05
Source: DIMIA, Australian Immigration Consolidated Statistics and Immigration Update, various issues; DIMIA unpublished data
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
1959-60
1962-63
1965-66
1968-69
1971-72
1974-75
1977-78
1980-81
1983-84
1986-87
1989-90
1992-93
1995-96
1998-99
2001-02
2004-05
Year
Number
Overseas-born
Australia-born
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
100,000
1959-60
1962-63
1965-66
1968-69
1971-72
1974-75
1977-78
1980-81
1983-84
1986-87
1989-90
1992-93
1995-96
1998-99
2001-02
2004-05
Year
Number

14. In 2004-05 there were
123,424 permanent settler arrivals
62,606 permanent departures
31,027 Australia-born permanent departures
303,496 long term arrivals
186,342 long term departures
91,635 Australian resident long term
departures

15. Australia: Permanent Departures by Country of Intended
Residence, 1993-94 to 2003-04
Source: DIMIA unpublished data

16. Country of Birth of Recent1
Immigrants to
Australia, 2001
Source: ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing
1. Country of birth of recent immigrants, overseas-born at 2001 census who arrived in Australia 1996
onwards

17. Country of Birth of Longstanding1
Immigrants to
Australia, 2001
Source: ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing
1. Country of birth of longstanding immigrants, overseas-born at 2001 census that arrived in
Australia before 1996

18. Measuring the Diaspora : Stocks
• Difficult to establish
• Can use censuses of destinations
• Other sources
• Need for consideration of new
methods

19. Limitations of Destination
Censuses
• Some nations don’t have censuses
• Some censuses don’t identify
migrants
• Some exclude non citizens
• Many migrants avoid censuses
• Excludes second and later
generations

20. Australia-born Population Living in Foreign Nations
Around 2001 and Counted in Population Censuses
Country Year Source Number
New Zealand 2001 Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Census 56,259
Japan 2001 OECD 2003 9,200
a
Germany 2001 Federal Statistics Office, Germany 8,322
Austria 2001 Statistics Austria 1,686
Finland 2002 Statistics Finland 673
Thailand 2000 National Statistical Office, Thailand 1,400
b
Hong Kong 2001 Commissioner for Census and Statistics, Hong Kong 6,251
c
USA 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 75,314
Belgium 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 1,136
Canada 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 20,155
Switzerland 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 3,420
Czech Republic 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 230
Denmark 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 1,663
Spain 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 3,913
France 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 4,216
Great Britain 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 107,871
Greece 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 20,449
Hungary 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 258
Ireland 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 6,107
Luxembourg 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 96
Mexico 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 281
Netherlands 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 9,529
Norway 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 1,101
Poland 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 608
Portugal 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 1,192
Slovak Republic 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 52
Sweden 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 2,525
Turkey 2001 Dumont and Lemaitre 2005, 33 2,938
Indonesia 2002 Soeprobo 2004 2,279
Korea 2002 Park 2004 1,623
Total 350,747
a
Population with Australian nationality
b
Australian citizens
c
Population with Australian/New Zealander ethnicity born outside of Hong Kong

21. Australian Citizens Living Abroad, 31 December 2001
Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra

22. Number of Hits from Foreign Nations on the Australian Football
League Website
Source: Australian Football League

23. Distribution of Australians in the United States, 2000
Source: US Bureau of the Census

24. Characteristics of Diaspora -
Demographic
• Young adults dominant
• Highly educated
• Highly skilled
• The “Best of the Best”
• Rite of passage VS Internationalisation
of labour market

25. London: Age-Sex Structure of the
Australia-born Population, 2001
Source: UK National Statistics Office
3,000 2,000 1,000 0 1,000 2,000 3,000
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
Age
Persons
Males Females

26. Australia: Permanent Departures by
Occupation, 1997-98 to 2004-2005
Source: DIMIA unpublished data
Percent Percent
Australia
Born
Overseas
Born
Australia
Born
Overseas
Born
1.Manager & Administrators 21,473 18,999 18.3 16.7
2.Professionals 50,860 38,655 43.4 33.9
3.Associate Professionals 10,839 13,901 9.3 12.2
4.Tradespersons 6,351 10,339 5.4 9.1
5.Advanced Clerical & Sales 5,191 3,447 4.4 3.0
6.Intermediate Clerical, Sales & Service 15,788 14,533 13.5 12.8
7.Intermediate Production & Transport 1,451 3,921 1.2 3.4
8.Elementary Clerical, Sales & Service 4,018 6,306 3.4 5.5
9. Labourers 1,091 3,770 0.9 3.3
Total 117,062 113,871 100.0 100.0

27. Australia: Age Sex Structures of Permanent Departures of the Australia-born,
Permanent Arrivals and Australian Resident Long Term Departures, 2002-03
Source: DIMIA Movements Data Base
Permanent Departures of the Australia-Born
12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0-4
10-14
20-24
30-34
40-44
50-54
60-64
Agegroup
Percentage
Males Females
Settler Arrivals
12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0-4
10-14
20-24
30-34
40-44
50-54
60-64
Agegroup
Percentage
Males Female
s
Australian Resident Long Term Departures
15 10 5 0 5 10 15
0-4
10-14
20-24
30-34
40-44
50-54
60-64
Agegroup
Percentage
Males Females

28. Survey of Expatriates
• A sample drawn from selected Australian
university alumni lists indicating former
students residing in foreign nations: 1,327
persons representing a 33.5 percent
response rate.
• Responses to an open invitation to participate
in the survey issued on the websites of a
number of expatriate organisations: 745
persons responded.

29. Male and Female Respondents by Country of
Residence Overseas
Source: Emigration Survey 2002

30. Selected Characteristics of Respondents by Major
Destination Countries
Source: Emigration Survey 2002

31. Reasons Given for Emigration to USA and Canada
(Percentage Indicating ‘Yes’ to a List of Specified
Reasons)
Source: Emigration Survey 2002
Reasons Ranked by Popularity of Total Response
USA and Canada
(n=819)
Better Employment Opportunities 45.8
Professional Development 38.6
Higher Income 35.4
Promotion/career Advancement 24.1
Lifestyle 16.2
Marriage/partnership 27.0
Overseas Job Transfer 23.4
Education/Study 19.7
Partner’s Employment 11.8
To be Close to Family/Friends 3.2
To Establish Business 2.6

32. Response to ‘Still Call Australia Home’ -
Citizenship of Respondent
USA
Source: Emigration Survey 2002
USA
Still Call Australia Home
(n=51)
Yes 37.3
No 56.9
Undecided 5.9
Total 100.0

33. Intentions to Return to Australia to Live by Major
Destination Country USA - Canada
Source: Emigration Survey 2002
Intention to Return
USA-Canada
(n=819)
Yes 44.8
No 19.3
Undecided 35.9
Total 100.0

34. Reasons Given by Male and Female Respondents
Who Stated That They Intended to Return to
Australia to Live (Percentage Indicating ‘Yes’ to a
List of Specified Reasons)
Source: Emigration Survey 2002
Reasons for Intending to Return
(Ranked by Popularity of Total
Response)
Males
(n=576)
Females
(n=474)
Persons
(n=1050)
Lifestyle 82.6 83.1 82.9
Family 68.4 75.3 71.5
Work 16.8 14.3 15.7
Education 8.9 10.3 9.5

35. Relationship with Homeland
• Myriad of networks, linkages
• Family, professional and media
• Revolution in information and
communication
• Frequency of return

36. “When I open emails from loved ones, I hear
the words read to me in their voices, their
unique body gestures.”
“My heart aches because it is pulled and
stretched across seas, across lands, to
encompass births, deaths, marriages, first
homes, losing a job, gaining a job, major
successes, major setbacks. When the phone
receiver is replaced I smile in a distant land.”
A. Azure 2003, 30
Development in Telecommunication
and Information Technology

37. Persons Most Likely to Return
• Australian spouse
• In late 30s, early 40s
• Have, or intend to have, children

38. Emigration Survey: Percentage of Visits by
Expatriates, Still Living in Country of First Move to
Australia by Time They Had Been Away
Source: Emigration Survey 2002
Time away overseas
One year or less 2-5 years 6-10 years 10+ years Total
No. of Visits % % % % %
None 46.7 38.2 6.7 8.4 100.0
1-4 times 9.5 56.9 17.5 16.2 100.0
5-9 times 0.3 22.0 30.6 47.1 100.0
10-19 times 0.0 10.6 15.6 73.8 100.0
20 + times 0.0 4.3 10.9 84.8 100.0
Total 11.7 38.7 17.8 31.7 100.0
N=172 N=568 N=261 N=465 N=1,466

39. “It has really been since I have
lived overseas that I have been
more acutely aware of my sense of
being Australian.”
Awareness of Group Identity

40. Identity as an Expatriate
• Development of formal and informal
expatriate groups
- originally single country eg Indonesia
- also often partly business
- increasingly web based and
international
• Emergence of an Australian expatriate
culture

41. “Perhaps my husband and I are slipping
towards some expatriate no mans land
outsiders not only in the country we have
chosen to live in but our own country as
well. We wonder if we will ever settle
contentedly into Australia again, and fear
we won’t. Perhaps we have entered,
without even realising it, that strange
state of exile where a memory of home is
all we have left.”
Nikki Gemnell 2003

42. “Many expatriates are bitterly disappointed how
Australians at home, and Australian
governments, treat them - perhaps
subconsciously – as traitors for having left. At
the very least its usually out of sight, out of
mind. The “tall poppy” syndrome may play a
role, which we will never be able to measure.
Expats are also punished – inadvertently
perhaps – by the failure of Australian
governments to properly consider the impact of
laws and policies – in some cases the lack
thereof – on Australians living abroad.”
A, McGregor 2003 19-20

43. “I have my husband and family now here in the
USA but all the rest of my immediate family are
in Australia – it will always be “home” but I also
have a home here. I will never give up my
Australian citizenship.”
“Being born raised and educated in Australia set
the values by which I live today. Had my wife
and I had children we would have returned to
Australia for their education.”
Identification with Homeland

44. Development of Multiple Identity
“Dual nationality is important for expatriates as they
don’t want to give up their Australian citizenship. Yet for
business and other reasons being a citizen in the
country they reside in is useful.”
“I have lived in England nearly 40 years but have kept
my Australian citizenship.”
“We left Australia because in 1980-81, 2 PhDs in
Physics in Adelaide had very little chance of getting
reasonably equivalent jobs. We are still here because it
is difficult to judge at a distance the costs and benefits
of the return… I guess pragmatically we have emigrated
but emotionally it feels more like an extended visit.”

45. Terms of Reference of Senate Inquiry
• the extent of the Australian diaspora;
• the variety of factors driving more Australians to live
overseas;
• the costs, benefits and opportunities presented by
the phenomenon;
• the needs and concerns of overseas Australians;
• the measures taken by other comparable countries
to respond to the needs of their expatriates; and
• way in which Australia could better use its
expatriates to promote our economic, social and
cultural interests.

46. Recommendations of Senate Inquiry
1. Establish web portal providing information
and services for expatriates.
2. Establish policy unit within DFAT to co-
ordinate expatriate policies.
3. ABS, DIMIA and DFAT improve statistical
collection in relation to expatriates.
4. Revise consular role for foreign missions to
engage expatriate community.

47. Recommendations of Senate Inquiry
(Cont.)
5. Online registration of local expatriates to
register professional profiles.
6. Amend citizenship act to allow children of
people who renounced or lost their
citizenship to become citizens.
7. Conduct a Review of Citizenship Act 1948.
8. Continually review DIMIA website to provide
more detailed information to expatriates.

48. Recommendations of Senate Inquiry
(Cont.)
9. Provision of an international citizen
information phone line.
10. Amend Commonwealth Electoral Act.
11. Web portal should have links to expatriate
network websites.
12. NGOs (like universities) encouraged to
pursue philanthropic contributions for
expatriates.

49. Policy Issues
• Concern about “brain drain: - divided
opinion
• How can we define Australia’s population?
• Need for recognition of Australians
overseas in the mainstream of Australian
life
• Measurers to “include” expatriates
• The potential of information technology

50. The Migration and Development
Debate
• Concentrated on less developed countries
• The positive effects of emigration
- remittances
- FDI
- social remittances
- bridgeheads
- technology transfer
- return migration
• Involvement of World Bank, USAID

51. A Lack of Evidence for Policy Making
To access on-line survey:
http://www.aisr.com.au/AustraliansinUS.asp