Australians overestimate size of Muslim population, new polling shows

Muslim community in Fairfield

Photo from archive. Source: Daily Mail

Almost half the population want Muslim immigration cut despite many not knowing how many actually move here, new polling has found.


Australians believe there are six times as many Muslims in the country than the number who actually live here, a new poll shows.

The latest Fairfax-Ipsos poll found Australians "often overestimate the proportion of the population that is Muslim" with respondents "believing it is 17 per cent when the reality is [around] 3 per cent", Fairfax reported on Monday.

According to the 2016 Census, the size of the Muslim population in this country is 604,200 people, or 2.6 per cent of the total population.

This compares to 30.1 per cent of Australians who have no religion, 22.6 per cent who are Catholic and 13.3 per cent who are Anglican.

The poll of 1200 voters found that 45 per cent of voters believe the number of immigrants coming to Australia should be reduced, with 23 per cent arguing for a rise and 29 per cent happy with the status quo.

Please listen to the full report in Pashto language.


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