Intermarriage in Australia: Patterns by Origin, Gender, and Generation

Siew-Ean Khoo, Australian National University

The paper examines patterns of intermarriage by comparing the ancestry of spouses in couple families using data from the 2001 Census. Patterns of intermarriage are examined by origin and gender for the first, second and third generations, with a particular focus on intermarriages between persons of non-English speaking background and native-born Australians. The paper also examines the extent of inter-racial marriages and the extent that in-group marriage in the second generation is occurring within the same generation or whether there is a propensity to seek marriage partners from the parental homeland. The results show considerable variation in intermarriage by ethnic origin; however for all ethnic groups there is a clear trend of increasing intermarriage from the first to the second generation and from the second to the third and later generations. The implications for immigrant integration are discussed.