Laotian Australians

Laotian Australians

Total population
Laotian 9,931 (by birth, 2011 Census) 12,372 (by ancestry, 2011 Census)
Regions with significant populations
New South Wales	5,101
Victoria	2,160
Queensland	1,316
Australian Capital Territory	640
Languages
Australian English · Lao · Hmong
Religion
Buddhism · Christianity · Irreligion
Related ethnic groups
Lao people, Isan people, Thai Australians, other Asian Australians

Laotian Australians (also known as Lao Australians) are Australians originating from Laos, and their descendants. Mass migration from Laos to Australia began in 1976. As of 1995, they numbered roughly 9,800 people.

Organisations

Organisations established by Laotians in Australia include the Lao Studies Society, the Council of Overseas Lao, the Lao Patthin Association, LaoAus Care Inc. and the Lao Women's Association. The leadership of these organisations is largely drawn from among the civil servants of the pre-communist government of Laos, as well as the international students who were sponsored to come to Australia under the Colombo Plan during that government.

Religion

Most Laotians in Australia are Theravada Buddhists, with a minority of Catholics. In the early days of their migration, they had no temples of their own, and so worshipped at established Thai Buddhist temples instead. Later, the community sponsored monks of their own country to come to Australia, mostly drawing from the population already in refugee camps in Thailand. As of 2001, Sydney had four Laotian Buddhist temples, Melbourne had two, and Canberra, Adelaide, and Albury-Wodonga each had one.

See also

• Asian Australians

External links

• [CC-By-SA] (Lao in Sydney)