Beijing (CNS) -- Under the background of globalization and international migration, more and more mainland Chinese have joined the tides since the opening-up policy from 1978. The new 21st century has witnessed a particular wave of Chinese migrants to the Oceania region, according to the Overseas Chinese Blue Book co-released by the Huaqiao University of China and the Social Sciences Academic Press August 15.
The two main destinations for Chinese migrants in Oceania are Australia and New Zealand, with about 90% of all residing in the two countries, as indicated in the blue book.
The number of Chinese migrants in Australia climbed to 676,600 by 2006, which was 3.41% of the country's total population of 19,855,300. This is among the highest rates of Chinese migrants in their respective destination countries.
Compared with the 2001 Census, Chinese migrants in Australia have been increasing by 4.07% per year by 2006. The rate is 2.52 times more than the local population growth rate.
Chinese in Australia will total 749,000 by 2011, 798,000 by 2016, and 848,000 by 2021, predicted the blue book. Another estimate is that the percentage of China-born Chinese migrants will hike from the 30% in 2006 to the 76% in 2021.
Chinese in New Zealand have also expanded rapidly. The fifteen years until 2001 saw a rocketing growth to 105,100 by 85,600 people. In 2006, the number reached 147,600, 3.66% of all local inhabitants, and 42,500 more than five years ago.
The Chinese migrant population in New Zealand is estimated to reach 160,000 in 2011, 168,000 in 2016, and 175,000 in 2021. The blue book also regards this high speed increase a short phenomenon because the New Zealand population growth is much lower than that of the local Chinese.
