Bangladeshi Australians community and contribution in Australia

Australia or the Commonwealth of Australia is an independent and sovereign state on the continent of Australia. The area of the country is 7,617,930 square kilometers. It is the sixth largest country in the world in terms of area. This country has a wide variety of landscapes with deserts, rainforests, and mountain ranges.

The capital of Australia is Canberra and the largest city is Sydney. Other big cities in the country are Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, etc. The total population of the country is about 30 million. The official language of this country is English.

Australia's system of government is a federal parliamentary and constitutional monarchy. Australia's present Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the King is Charles III. The country's legislature is bicameral. The upper house is called the Senate and the lower house is called the House of Representatives.

It gained independence from the United Kingdom. The indigenous tribes were the first to settle in this country. The country was unknown to the outside world until the 17th century. British prisoners were kept here in the 17th century after the discovery of this country.

Later it was established as a large colony of British prisoners. Over the next 200 years, the European population continued to grow here. In 1901, a total of six colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia is a very developed and prosperous country. The standard of living here is very good. According to the 2019 statistics, the country is ranked eighth on the Human Development Index.

Australia and Bangladesh relations

Australia has good relations with almost all countries of the world. A person can travel visa-free to 109 countries on an Australian passport. The passport of this country is the seventh most powerful passport in the world. Like other countries in the world, the country has very good relations with Bangladesh.

Bilateral relations between Australia and Bangladesh began in 1971, soon after Bangladesh's independence. Among the developed countries of the world, Australia became the first country to recognize Bangladesh as an independent country. Moreover, Australia is the fourth country in the world to recognize Bangladesh.

Australia has an embassy in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and it was opened almost immediately after Bangladesh's independence. Warm diplomatic relations exist between these two countries. In addition to diplomatic relations, Australia and Bangladesh also have investment-related and commercial relations between them.

Bangladesh and Australia's mutual trade has soared 6 times in the last decade. Now it has reached 2 billion US dollars. In 2003 Australia expanded the duty-free quote of the free facility to LDCs which greatly increased Bangladesh's export to Australia. Bangladesh is presently Australia's 32nd largest trading partner.

Besides, defense cooperation is also seen between these two countries. Today cricket has brought Australia and Bangladesh much closer. We often see competitive cricket matches between these two countries.

You may have heard of Australia Bangladesh Solidarity Network. It is an organization that is working relentlessly for the garment workers of Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi Community in Australia

Like other countries in the world, Australia also has a Bangladeshi community. People of Bangladeshi descent who are citizens of Australia and living there permanently are called Bangladeshi Australians.

Most Bangladeshis live in the Australian provinces of New South Wales and Victoria. Besides, Sydney and Melbourne also see many Australians of Bangladeshi origin. The number of citizens of Bangladesh origin in Australia is close to 53 thousand.

The first immigrants from Bangladesh arrived in Australia in the late 19th century, accompanied by retired British Indian officials. Bangladeshis were not enumerated separately in the Australian census until 1971 when Bangladesh gained Independence from Pakistan. Since the 1970s, Bangladeshi migration has progressively grown, with the majority of migrants entering under the skilled migration program.

The number of immigrants increased grammatically between 1991 and 2011. While some followed the past trend of entering through the skilled migration program, others entered through the family migration or humanitarian programs.

The great majority of Bangladeshi-born Australians aged 15 and up have some type of higher education. There are various social and cultural networks in Australia's Bangladeshi community. These networks aid in the celebration of Bangladeshi culture and the settlement of newly arriving migrants in Australia.

Who are the famous Bangladeshis in Australia?

Australian citizens of Bangladeshi origin have achieved success in their fields of work and as a result, their reputation has spread to Australia, Bangladesh, and other countries. Here we are going to introduce you to some famous Australians of Bangladeshi origin.

Sadia Andalib Nabila: She is widely known as Sadia Nabila. Sadia Nabila is an actress and model. She made her film debut working in the Bollywood industry. She gained wide recognition by working in feature films, short films, television commercials, and music videos. Her feature films are Pereshan Parinda and Mission Extreme. Her short film is Mon. Besides, we see her in the Grameenphone advertisement in 2018.

Tanveer Ahmed: He is a psychiatrist by profession. Besides, he is a television presenter and journalist for SBS TV. Tanveer Ahmed represented the Medical Association of Australia from 2006 to 2007, where he trained doctors as a national representative. He was a regular reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. Tanveer Ahmed is the author of The Exotic Rissole and Fragile Nation.

Amer Rahman: He is a comedian. His comedic character style is observational and ironic. His comedy topics are racism, racism in Australia, political humor, terrorism, the war on terror, race relations, immigration, religion, protest, and current affairs. Amer Rahman has portrayed his comedy character through television and film. His notable comedy is Fair of Brown Planet, which features a wonderful pairing of Amer Rahman and Nazim Hussain.

Taskin Rahman: He is an actor, singer, and painter. His oil paintings have been exhibited several times. In 2015 in Sydney the first exhibition of his oil paintings. In 2017, he became known through the film Dhaka Attack. In this film, he portrayed the villain character in a novel way to the audience. He received Meril Prothom Alo Award in 2018 and Bharat Bangladesh Film Award in 2019.

What is the contribution of Australian Bangladeshis to the economy of Australia?

Australia is a mixed economy country. The majority of the country's economy is dominated by various service sectors. Australian citizens of Bangladeshi origin are playing an enviable role in Australia's economy.

Many have been serving in different professions such as education and healthcare. The labor force participation rate among Bangladeshi-born citizens aged 15 and over was 67.9%, while the unemployment rate was 13.2%. In the whole Australian population, the equivalent rates were 63.0 and 7.4% respectively. In a survey, 41.1% of the 4620 Bangladesh-born workers were working in skilled employment, 29.3% in semi-skilled occupations, and 29.7% in unskilled occupations.

In the whole Australian population the equivalent rates were 52.6, 28.9, and 18.6% respectively. All in all, Australians in Bangladesh are playing a significant role in Australia's economy.