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Migration History

The 2021 Australian Census recorded 16,609 people living in Australia who were born in (North) Sudan. However, it is important to recognise that the current statistical data may not accurately distinguish between the North and South Sudanese populations. For example, some individuals born in South Sudan before its independence in 2011 continue to list "Sudan" as their birthplace, leading to their misclassification as North Sudanese in population data.¹ The percentage of Sudan-born residents listing Arabic as their first language (60%) provides a more accurate reflection of the North Sudanese population.²

Approximately 26.6% of Sudan-born migrants arrived before 2001, primarily as skilled migrants.² However, more than half arrived between 2001 and 2010 (57.3%), mainly through the Humanitarian Program.² Most were refugees who had fled war, drought and famine to neighbouring countries, such as South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia and Egypt, and were resettled in Australia with the assistance of the UNHCR.¹ The Department of Home Affairs reports that Sudanese arrivals to Australia peaked between 2002 and 2007.¹

One cannot generalise the migration experiences of North Sudanese people in Australia, as they vary significantly depending on individuals' backgrounds (i.e., ethnicity or religion), the conflicts or political developments to which they may have been affected, and when they left the country. Furthermore, it is important to avoid correlating the North Sudanese individual’s migration experiences with those of South Sudanese refugees, as these are usually very different. Broadly, migrants from North Sudan fall into three demographics that have each formed communities in Australia: Sudanese Christians, Sudanese Arab Muslims and Darfur refugees.

Sudanese Christians

Sudanese Christians began arriving in Australia after Sudan gained independence from British and Egyptian rule in 1956. However, the first significant wave of migration occurred during the period of political instability in the 1960s and 1970s, following successive coups d’état and the rise of militant Islam. More Sudanese Christians continued to arrive throughout the 1970s to 1990s, disillusioned by the deteriorating situation in Sudan and the imposition of Shari’a law, which increasingly restricted their civic, economic, and legal freedoms. Many of these migrants were well-educated professionals from urban areas, such as Khartoum, arriving as skilled workers.

The largest wave of migration occurred from 1990 onwards after Omar al-Bashir seized power and imposed Islamic Shari’a law nationwide. Most Sudanese Christians in Australia arrived as refugees fleeing religious persecution. According to the 2021 Census, roughly half (51%) of the Oriental Orthodox Christian Sudanese population migrated between 1991 and 2000.³ Today, community leaders estimate there are roughly 50,000 Coptic Sudanese in Australia. The majority live in Sydney, concentrated around East Lake, with smaller populations in Melbourne and Adelaide.

The majority of Sudanese Christians in Australia are Coptic Christians, although a small number are Eastern Orthodox Christians. Many individuals have mixed heritage or nationality, typically of Egyptian or European descent. For example, most Copts are descendants of Egyptian immigrants who lived in Sudan. Generally speaking, Sudanese Christian migrants have shown a stronger attachment to their religious identity than to their Sudanese national identity. This has been reflected in the way they have settled in Australia. Most Coptic Sudanese have joined the Coptic Egyptian Australian communities, whilst most Eastern Orthodox Christians have been absorbed into the Greek Orthodox Australian communities.⁴ At the time of writing, there is only one distinct Sudanese-Coptic organisation in Australia.

Sudanese Arab Muslims

The Sudanese Arabs are one of the only North Sudanese expatriate groups that are likely to feel a strong attachment to their nationality. They are Arabic-speaking Muslims who have mostly arrived from the 1990s onwards (see Sudanese Arabs in Core Concepts). Many Sudanese Arabs in Australia are political refugees who became victims of the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983 to 2005). These families often lived in a transit country (usually Egypt) for prolonged periods while their asylum claims were being processed before migrating to Australia. Some other families may have moved to an Arabic-speaking Gulf country where they lived as expatriates before arriving as skilled migrants. In both these cases, the majority of Sudanese Arabs spent their years of transit in urban areas and cities, not refugee camps. Most children continued their schooling during this period. As a result, Arab Muslim migrants from North Sudan are generally well educated and urbanised.

Refugees from Darfur

Australia’s humanitarian intake has included a significant number of refugees fleeing the Darfur Crisis in western Sudan (2003 to present). While predominantly Muslim, this refugee cohort is culturally and linguistically distinct from the majority of Sudanese Arabs living in Australia. Most belong to the Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit ethnic groups and speak a local language specific to their ethnicity. While some may be able to understand Arabic or have learnt it during their migration journey, it is not their first language. Refugees from the Darfur region have typically established their own communities in Australia, reflecting their distinct cultural identity.

Those who were displaced from the Darfur region typically lived in rural agrarian communities. As a result, many had no employment history in skilled jobs outside of agriculture. This has presented particularly difficult settlement challenges. To better support their integration, the Australian government has settled some Darfur refugees in rural towns, aligning with their agricultural backgrounds, rather than in larger cities.

Refugees from Darfur have generally endured a long, distressing period of displacement in refugee camps across Darfur, Chad, the Central African Republic and Egypt (particularly Cairo) prior to their arrival in Australia. Reports of harassment, arrests, systemic rape, targeted assassinations and forced disappearances have consistently emerged from the camps.⁵ Furthermore, there is reason to believe that the Sudanese and Egyptian governments have been preventing Darfuris from accessing avenues to claim asylum while in transit.⁶ It is important to consider that many continue to have grave concerns about the safety of their families remaining in these areas.⁶ In addition to enduring hardships in refugee camps, some may have faced repeated attacks by the Janjaweed militia and witnessed the atrocities of the Darfur genocide (see The Darfur Crisis in Core Concepts).

Experience in Australia

Media reporting often does not differentiate between the different ethnicities and nationalities of the African people living in Australia. A distinction is rarely made between the separate countries of North Sudan and South Sudan. This can lead to misconceptions that the cultural behaviours of the South Sudanese community reflect those of the North Sudanese people. Moreover, there is a limited public understanding of the diversity within North Sudan alone, making it more challenging for Sudanese individuals to explain their cultural differences to Australians.

As with other African communities in Australia, the Sudanese people are sometimes the target of intolerance and hostility from the Australian public. According to the Scanlon Foundation’s 2015 survey, 54% of respondents with an African background claimed to have experienced racial discrimination in a 12-month period.⁷

It is reported that Sudanese migrants tend to miss the community focus of their culture. In Sudan, whole neighbourhoods may be deeply involved in helping everyone collectively meet everyday challenges (see Interdependence and Community in Core Concepts). Therefore, it is common for Sudanese families in Australia to form close-knit communities that support one another. In some cases, this has resulted in negative stereotypes of their communities as too ‘insular’ or an assumption that they are not adapting to the ‘Australian way of life’.

Despite perceived discrimination, the majority of Sudanese migrants report satisfaction with their lives in Australia.⁷ The vast majority speak English ‘well’ or ‘very well’. Most have also sought to educate themselves if they had not already received a formal education. It is common for people to seek training to fill professions that are undersupplied in Sudan, such as doctors, lawyers and political scientists. For many, the suffering of their people and country has motivated them to make positive contributions to their community in Australia.