Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities


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January 5, 2024Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities, PrevalencePrevalence among migrant communities 2021 (AIHW, Census 2021)

According to the Census 2021, 3.6% of humanitarian entrants reported having asthma, a rate equal to other permanent migrants but 60% lower than the rest of the Australian population.

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February 17, 2023Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities, PrevalencePrevalence among culturally and linguistically diverse communities 2021 (AIHW, Census 2021)

Based on the Census 2021 data:
* People born in Australia had a higher prevalence of asthma (10.3% crude prevalence; 10.5%, age standardised) than people born in any other country
* People born in Australia, English-speaking and European countries generally had higher prevalence of asthma, arthritis, cancer, lung conditions and mental health conditions
* For people born overseas, the (age-standardised) prevalence of asthma increased with time since arrival in Australia, from 2.72% for 0-5 years to 4.14% for 6-10 years; 4.99% for 11-15 years and 7.20% for more than 15 years
* People who spoke English had a higher (age-standardised) prevalence of asthma (10.29%) than any other language except Auslan (15.17%), Maori (New Zealand, 14.63%), Sign languages (nfd, 14.49%), Gaelic (12.36%), Maltese (10.49%) and Welsh (10.38%)
* The (age standardised) prevalence of asthma decreased with decreasing level of proficiency in English

Figures are displayed below. Factors can be combined (e.g. time since arrival and proficiency in English)

Age standardised asthma prevalence by country of origin
Rank Country​ (most common countries of origin) Overall prevalence 0-10 years in Australia​ >10 years in Australia​ Change over time​ (fold)
1 Australia 10.5
2 New Zealand 9.68 9.33 10.14 1.1
3 England 7.99 6.52 8.72 1.3
4 USA 7.77 6.35 9.09 1.4
5 Scotland 7.76 6.68 8.16 1.2
6 Sri Lanka 6.73 4.81 8.41 1.7
7 South Africa 6.64 5.27 7.37 1.4
8 Philippines 6.37 4.52 7.94 1.8
9 Iraq 5.28 3.94 7.17 1.8
10 Germany 5.03 4.05 5.7 1.4
11 Malaysia 4.58 2.94 5.68 1.9
12 Hong Kong (SAR of China) 4.5 2.9 6.08 2.1
13 Greece 4.46 3.6 5.48 1.5
14 Lebanon 4.45 3.07 5.58 1.8
15 Italy 4.07 2.84 4.93 1.7
16 Pakistan 3.96 3.08 5.61 1.8
17 Vietnam 3.74 1.71 5.47 3.2
18 India 2.91 1.77 3.93 2.2
19 Nepal 2.02 1.8 2.43 1.4
20 South Korea 1.78 0.94 2.58 2.7
21 China (excl. SARs and Taiwan 1.59 1.03 2.4 2.3

Top 5 are anglo-saxon cultural background!

Age-standardised asthma prevalence by language used at home:

Language asthma prevalence (age standardised) Rank % of population speaking this language
English (only) 10.29 1
Italian 6.8 2
Tagalog (Philippines) 6.73 3
Greek 6.68 4
Spanish 6.65 5
Arabic 6.52 6 1.4
Sinhalese (Sri lanka) 6.37 7
Vietnamese 6.21 8 1.3
Filipinoa 6.1 9
Tamil (Sri lanka) 5.24 10
Cantonese (incl. Hong Kong) 4.5 11 1.2
Indonesian 4.49 12
Urdu (Pakistan) 4.37 13
Persian (excl. Dari) 4.18 14
Hindi (India) 4 15
Malayalam (India) 3.41 16
Nepali (Nepal) 3.2 17
Punjabi (India, Pakistan) 2.54 18 0.9
Gujarati (India) 2.3 19
Mandarin 2.22 20 2.7
Korean 1.9 21

reference for % population speaking this language: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Cultural diversity: Census [Internet]. Canberra: ABS; 2021 [cited 2023 June 16]. Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/cultural-diversity-census/latest-release.

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