Australia’s National Identity

A recent McCrindle Research study conducted in June 2013 reveals that Australians have a greater sense of national identity than regional identity, local identity, and even global identity.

National identity trumphs all other geographic identities

When asked how strongly they connect and identify with a range of geographic and political areas, over half of Australians (55%) connected extremely or very strongly to Australia as a whole, whereas only 46% of Australians expressed this same strength of connection to their locality or town, and 37% expressed this same strength when it came to their state and territory.

According to rank, Australia’s strength of identity and connection to geographic and political areas is as follows:

    1. Australia as a whole (1.0) 
    2. Our locality or town (1.25)
    3. Our state or territory (1.48) 
    4. Our region or council (1.76) 
    5. The world as a whole (1.87) 
    6. Asia-Pacific as a whole (2.15)

“These findings are fascinating and show that the Australian’s primary identity is being ‘Australian’ at a national level, far more than any state allegiance,” says social researcher Mark McCrindle. “There is more of a connection with even their local area than at the state level.”

Australians therefore connect strongly both nationally and locally, but not globally nor regionally.

In fact, there is almost no identification with the ‘Asia-Pacific’ region, nor ‘The Pacific,’ ‘Australasia,’ ‘Greater Southeast Asia,’ or ‘Oceanaia.’ Less than 1 in 6 expressed a passionate connection to our broader geographical region.

For more information, download The Trust Report 2013. Click here to download the full report.

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