Kenyan Australians are
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
citizens and residents of
Kenyan origin and descent. They may be of indigenous African, European, or Indian heritage.
Background
Uncertainties about the future of colonial-run Kenya prompted many Kenyan-born settlers of both European and Indian backgrounds to migrate to other countries, including Australia. There are also many Swahili-speaking Kenyans of indigenous African ancestry.
The majority of such migrants had no difficulty getting work and settling into the Australian community.
The majority of Kenyan Australians are skilled and educated, with 72.5% of the Kenyan-born aged 15 years and over possessing higher non-school qualifications, compared to 55.9% of the Australian population.
Population
The 2016 Census noted there are 17,652 Kenya-born people in Australia.
About one in five Australians who claim Kenyan ancestry live in
Sydney.
Languages
The languages most commonly spoken at home by Kenyan-born Australians are English and Swahili, however Kikuyu, Luo, Kalenjin, Gujarati, Dinka and other languages are not uncommon.
Kikuyu is a Kenyan language spoken by over one hundred Australians at home, and Luo is also spoken by about one hundred Australians.
About 5,000 Kenyan-born Australians speak a language indigenous to Africa at home.
Some of the over 10,700 Australian-born who speak an African language may also speak a language of Kenya.
The 74 languages the
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...
broadcasts in includes
Swahili and
Dinka
The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out ...
, both languages spoken by many Kenyan-born Australians.
Notable people
*
Bruce Kamau
Bruce Kamau (born 28 March 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Greek Super League club OFI. Born in Kenya, Kamau is a youth international for Australia.
Early life
Born in Kenya, Kamau moved to Australia aged 4. He at ...
, footballer
*
Mark Ochieng
Mark Ochieng is a Kenyan-Australian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Adelaide Olympic in the National Premier Leagues South Australia.
Early life
Ochieng's father played international football for Kenya. After growing up in ...
, footballer
*Former
Senator Lucy Gichuhi
Lucy Muringo Gichuhi (; ; born 23 September 1962) is an Australian politician who served as a Senator for South Australia from 2017 to 2019. Born in Kenya, Gichuhi worked as an accountant before entering politics. Gichuhi is a social conservativ ...
,
Family First Party
The Family First Party was a conservative political party in Australia which existed from 2002 to 2017. It was founded in South Australia where it enjoyed its greatest electoral support. Since the demise of the Australian Conservatives into wh ...
politician
*
Rashid Mahazi
Rashid Mahazi is a Kenyan-Australian football (soccer) player who last played as a midfielder for Incheon United FC. A natural defensive minded player, Mahazi also played as a right back or as a defensive midfielder as he primarily did in the ...
, footballer of Diaspora Coordinator
See also
*
African Australians
*
Australia–Kenya relations
References
{{Kenyan diaspora
*
Kenyan diaspora