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Arab Australians ( ar, عرب أستراليا) refers to Australian citizens or residents with ancestry from the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, regardless of their ethnic origins. Many are not ethnically Arab but numerous groups who include
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
,
Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...
,
Copts Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are C ...
, Assyrians,
Berbers , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...
and others. The majority are
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
by faith with minorities being
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
,
Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
,
Yazidi Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The majo ...
and other faiths.


Overview

Arab Australians generally share a common cultural heritage, which originates in the
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
-speaking countries of the Middle East and North Africa (
MENA MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...
). According to the AHRC, most Egyptian (69%), Lebanese (61%) Palestinians (60%) and Syrian (46%) emigrants to Australia settled before 1986. Other MENA populations mainly arrived later during the 1990s, such as Iraqis and Sudanese. Although the countries of origin of Arab Australians are all primarily
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic (>70%), emigrants to Australia from these states belonged to various religious orders not proportional to their home countries' religious demographics. Most
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
-born and
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
-born Australians were Christian
Copts Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are C ...
(84%) and
Maronites The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the largest ...
(55%), respectively. The majority of Arab Australians are overwhelmingly Lebanese, and collectively, Christian Arab Australians (including Lebanese Christian Australians together with other Christian Arab Australians) comprise a majority of Arab Australians. The proportion of
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s was highest among immigrants from
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
(40% of Jordanian Australians are Muslim), followed by
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
(34% of Syrian Australians are Muslim) and
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
(31% of Iraqi Australians are Muslim). Arab Australians are mainly concentrated in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
and
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. Smaller groups also reside in
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
,
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
and
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, with fewer in
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
, the
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
and the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
.


Demographics

In the 2001 census, 248,807 Australian residents reported Arab ancestry. Additionally, 209,372 Australians indicated that they spoke Arabic at home. 162,283 Australian residents were born in one of the 22
Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
nations, a proportion which represented 0.8% of Australia's population. 120,000 Australians also had a parent who was born in an Arab state. The most common countries of origin for Arab Australians were Lebanon (71,349), Egypt (33,432) and Iraq (24,832). Of these, a further 89,021 had a Lebanese-born parent and 10,296 had an Egyptian-born parent. Additionally, Australia is a major tourist destination for people from the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
, with 14,000 Emiratis entering the country each year. There is also an Emirati international student community of between 1,200 and 2,000 pupils. According to the AHRC, most Australian residents born in Arab nations are citizens of Australia. The citizenship take-up rate is highest among the earlier settlers, who have been established longer. 91.6% of Egypt-born residents were Australian citizens, followed by immigrants born in Lebanon (91.3%), Syria (86.2%), and Iraq (68.1%).


Notable people

*
Ahmed Fahour Ahmed Fahour ( ar, أحمد فاعور ; born 1966) is a Lebanese Australian businessman. He is the managing director (MD) and CEO of Latitude Financial Services, and was formerly MD and CEO of Australia Post, and CEO Australia of the National ...
* Ali Abbas Al-Hilfi *
Anne Aly Anne Azza Aly (born Azza Mahmoud Fawzi Hosseini Ali el Serougi, 1967) is an Australian politician who has been a Labor member of the House of Representatives since the 2016 election, representing the electorate of Cowan in Western Australia. ...
*
David Basheer David Basheer is an Australian sports commentator and presenter on television network SBS. He is best known for presenting The World Game football show on SBS from 2007 to 2018. Early life and education David was born in Adelaide, South Austra ...
*
Don Hany Don Hany (born 18 September 1975) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role in the series ''White Collar Blue'', Dr. Chris Havel in ''Offspring'', and the leading role of Zane Malik in the SBS series '' East West 101''. He is also ...
* Faisal Faisal *
Hakeem al-Araibi Hakeem al-Araibi ( ar, حكيم العريبي; born 7 November 1993) is an Australian footballer of Bahraini descent who currently plays for St Albans Saints in NPL Victoria. He is a dissident, who fled to Australia in 2014 and subsequently ...
*
Jacques Nasser Jacques Albert Nasser (Arabic: جاك نصر; born 12 December 1947) is a Lebanese Australian American business executive and philanthropist. Known for a management career at Ford Motor Company spanning several decades and continents, from 199 ...
* Joseph Saba *
Lily Serna Lily Serna is an Australian mathematician and television presenter, best known for co-presenting the SBS game shows '' Letters and Numbers'' (2010−2012) and ''Celebrity Letters and Numbers'' (2021−), as well as the cooking show ''Destinati ...
*
Loudy Wiggins Loudy Wiggins (née Tourky) (born 7 July 1979) is a former Australian diver. She was born in Haifa, Israel to Palestinian parents, but moved to Australia when she was 3 years old. Wiggins was a gymnast at the Australian Institute of Sport, th ...
*
Matthew Abood Matthew Abood (born 28 June 1986 in Sydney) is a freestyle swimmer from Australia. He won the bronze medal with the Australian swimming team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as well as the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Sh ...
*
Munif Mohammed Abou Rish Munif Mohammed Abou Rish was a Palestinian journalist, who is claimed to have planned to assassinate Bob Hawke in the mid-1970s, at the time the federal president of the Australian Labor Party (and future prime minister of Australia). According ...
*
Mustafa Amini Mohammad Mustafa Castillo Amini, known as Mustafa Amini, (Dari language, Dari: محمد مصطفی کاستیلو امینی, born 20 April 1993) is an Australian professional Association football, footballer who plays for Perth Glory FC, Perth ...
*
Osamah Sami Osamah Sami (born 10 March 1983 in Qom, Iran) is an Australian stage and screen actor, writer, spoken-word artist, and stand-up comedian of Iraqi origin. His critically acclaimed book ''Good Muslim Boy'', was the winner of the 2016 NSW Premie ...
*
Paul Nakad Paul Nakad (born 21 October 1975) is an Australian actor and rapper, best known by the name Sleek the Elite. He began performing music as Sleek the Elite in 1991, then appeared in the SBS television series ''Pizza'' as a character by that same ...
*
Randa Abdel-Fattah Randa Abdel-Fattah (born 6 June 1979) is an Australian writer. Randa was born in Australia and her debut novel, '' Does My Head Look Big in This?'', was published in 2005. Early life and education Abdel-Fattah was born in Sydney, New South Wal ...
*
Ron Bakir Ron Bakir is a Lebanese entrepreneur from Queensland, Australia. Bakir is the founder and CEO of HomeCorp Group. Early life Bakir was born in Lebanon in 1977. In 1995, at the age of 17, Bakir established the mobile phone chain Crazy Ron's in Qu ...
*
Samah Sabawi Samah Sabawi ( ar, سماح السبعاوي; 1967) is a Palestinian playwright, scholar, commentator and poet. Her plays include ''Cries from the Land'' (2003), ''Three Wishes'' (2008), ''Tales of a City by the Sea'' (2014) and ''Them'' (2019). ...
*
Samier Dandan Samier Dandan is an Australian Muslim who is currently the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association. He is a well-known advocate of the Australian Muslim community. In the lead-up to the 2011 NSW State Election, Samier Dandan famously t ...
*
Shady Alsuleiman Shady Alsuleiman (born 1978 in Sydney, Australia) is a Muslim imam and the president of the Australian National Imams Council and the United Muslims of Australia. He is from a Palestinian family who migrated to Australia in the late 1960s. He initi ...
*
Waleed Aly Waleed Aly (born 15 August 1978) is an Australian journalist, academic, and lawyer. Aly is a lecturer in politics at Monash University working in their Global Terrorism Research Centre, and a co-host of Network Ten's news and current affairs ...
* Akmal * Moudi Najjar *
Munjed Al Muderis Professor Munjed Al Muderis (born 1972) is an Australian Adjunct Clinical Professor in orthopaedic surgery, author and human rights activist. He has done pioneering work on prosthetics, especially on titanium devices. Al Muderis was born in Ir ...
*
Osama Malik Osama "Ozzie" Malik ( ar, أسامة ملك ; born 30 September 1990) is an Australian professional association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for Indian Super League club Odisha FC, Odisha. Club caree ...


In popular culture

Jammin' in the Middle E is an Australia drama backgrounded on the inhabitants of Western Sydney.


See also

*
Arab diaspora Arab diaspora (also known as MENA diaspora, as a short version for the Middle East and North Africa diaspora) refers to descendants of the Arab people, Arab Emigration, emigrants who, voluntarily or as refugees, emigrated from their native lands ...
*
Assyrian Australians Assyrian Australians ( syr, ܐܵܬܘܿܪ̈ܵܝܹܐ ܕܐܘܼܣܛܪܵܠܝܼܵܐ), refers to ethnic Assyrians possessing Australian nationality. They are descended from the Northern Mesopotamian region, specifically the Assyrian homeland. Today ...
*
Australian Jews Australian Jews, or Jewish Australians, ( he, יהודים אוסטרלים, translit=yehudim ostralim) are Jews who are Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia. In the 2016 census, there were 21,175 Australians who identifi ...
*
Christianity in Australia Christianity is the largest religion in Australia, with a total of 43.9% of the nation-wide population identifying with a Christian denomination. The presence of Christianity in Australia coincided with the foundation of the first British colon ...
*
Coptic Australians Coptic Australians ( ar, أستراليون أقباط) are Australians of Coptic descent or persons of Coptic descent residing in Australia. According to the 2011 census, there were 24,693 Copts in Australia, mostly members of the Coptic Orthod ...
*
Egyptian diaspora Egyptian diaspora consists of citizens of Egypt abroad sharing a common culture and Egyptian Arabic language. The phenomenon of Egyptians emigrating from Egypt was rare until Gamal Abdel Nasser came to power after overthrowing the monarchy in 19 ...
*
European Australians European Australians are citizens or residents of Australia whose ancestry originates from the peoples of Europe. They form the largest panethnic group in the country. At the 2021 census, the number of ancestry responses categorised within Eu ...
*
Islam in Australia Islam in Australia is a minority religious affiliation. According to the 2021 Census in Australia, the combined number of people who self-identified as Muslims in Australia, from all forms of Islam, constituted 813,392 people, or 3.2% of t ...
*
Lebanese diaspora Lebanese diaspora refers to Lebanese migrants and their descendants who emigrated from Lebanon and now reside in other countries. There are more Lebanese living outside Lebanon (over 4 million), than within the country (4 million citizens). T ...
*
Palestinian diaspora The Palestinian diaspora ( ar, الشتات الفلسطيني, ''al-shatat al-filastini''), part of the wider Arab diaspora, are Palestinian people living outside the region of Palestine. History Palestinian individuals have a long history of ...
*
Syrian diaspora Syrian diaspora refers to Syrian people and their descendants who chose or were forced to emigrate from Syria and now reside in other countries as immigrants, or as refugees of the Syrian Civil War. The number of Syrians outside Syria is es ...
* Syrian Australians


References

{{Ethnic groups in Australia Immigration to Australia
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 Au ...