Zimbabwe's Emigrants: Growth and Change in Australia

Prior to 2006 the Zimbabwe-born in Australia were largely ignored or subsumed within broader geographical Africa categories. However between 2001 and 2006 their numbers almost doubled to become the second most numerous birthplace group from sub-Saharan Africa. This prompted Lucas, Jamali and Edgar (2011) to analyse their basic characteristics, one finding being that they were increasingly of non-European ancestry. This article builds upon this work by analysing 2011 Australian census data with a particular focus on European and African components of the Zimbabwe-born. It examines the age/sex structures, occupations, industries, and Australian citizenship take-up rates of each subgroup, identified by their ancestries and languages. Both components are strongly represented in managerial/professional occupations. Unlike the situation in the United Kingdom, mentioned below, there is no strong evidence of deskilling. Although the ethnic composition has changed, the high socioeconomic status of Zimbabwean immigrants is indicated by the predominance of skilled migrants among settler arrivals since 1991. This is contrasted with immigrants from refugee source countries in Africa, who have often experienced interrupted schooling. Another finding is that the majority of both English speakers and African language speakers have taken up Australian citizenship, suggesting that return migration is unlikely to be significant in the immediate future. The substantial flows from Zimbabwe to Australia since 2000 are shown to reflect government policies and the state of the economy in both countries.