China overtakes UK as main source of migrants

China has surpassed the UK to become Australia’s biggest provider of migrants, according to a report by the Financial Times. Migrants from China has increased to nearly 30,000 out of Australia’s yearly intake of 168,685 new migrants, as found in figures published by the Australian government.

This jump is largely due to Australia’s close ties with China, which is its biggest two-way trading partner. In its efforts to meet China’s demand for commodities and fuel, Australia’s mining and energy industries are in desperate need for skilled workers.

The increase in volume of migrants from China helped to offset the decline from the UK, where the percentage migrants fell for a fifth straight year. Migrants from India have also decreased in number due to the highly publicised Indian student bashings that took place in 2009, tarnishing Australia’s reputation as a migrant destination.

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