Australia’s Jewish Population Rises to 100K

By JTA June 24, 2012

Australia’s official Jewish population has risen by about 10 percent in the last five years to almost 100,000, according to new census data.

The findings of the 2011 census, released June 22 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, revealed the Jewish population to be 97,335.

But Jewish demographers have long believed the unofficial number of Jews to be between 10,000 and 20,000 more than the census figure for several reasons: the religion question is the only optional question in the census; the question about religion does not list Judaism, so Jews who want to be counted must check “other;” some Holocaust survivors are believed to be less likely to identify themselves; and some unaffiliated Jewish-born people feel it unnecessary to identify their religion.

Most experts believe the true figure is between 110,000 to 120,000, making Australia the ninth largest Jewish community in the world based on the Hebrew University demographer Sergio DellaPergola’s 2010 world Jewish population report.

DellaPergola listed Australia’s Jewish population at just over 107,000 in 2010.

The estimated 10 percent rise from the 2006 census is an increase on the previous five-year period, which showed growth at 5.4 percent. The Jewish population of Australia in 2006 numbered just under 89,000 Jews.

The census revealed Christianity is the most common religion with more than 60 percent of Australians identifying; more than 20 percent said “no religion,” while Hinduism is the fastest-growing religion followed by Islam, which numbered more than 475,000 people of Australia’s population of almost 22.5 million people. Jews constitute about 0.5 percent of the population.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO