Abbreviated as BPMP/BPFP; referenced by 0 other explainers
Country of birth of parents shows whether each person's parents were born in Australia or overseas. It sorts people into five groups: both parents born overseas, mother only born overseas, father only born overseas, both parents born in Australia, and Not stated.
The figures come from Census data. The Australian Bureau of Statistics collects them.
This page counts each person once, by where their mother and father were born. It is not about where the person was born. For that, see the Birthplace marker. For the cultural background a person reports, see the Ancestry marker. The three answer different questions and each should be read on its own.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics gives a separate Not stated count. So this marker shows a Not stated row next to the four parent groups. It means the parents' birth country was not given on the form. It is a form fact, not a fact about the person.
This view helps with first and second generation patterns. Whether a person also identifies with a parent's country of birth is not something this count can tell you; read it with the Ancestry and Language used at home markers. For the wider culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) story, read this page alongside Birthplace, Language used at home, and Ancestry too.
The total counts people at their usual place of residence. It covers people in non-private homes such as hospitals, aged-care homes, hostels, and student housing. It does not count overseas visitors.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics tweaks small-area counts to keep people safe, which can hide small cells. This is called perturbation.
See the marker methodology for how these figures are built and its limits.
Read small-area figures for one community as patterns, not exact counts, and check them with community organisations before drawing strong claims.