Australians overestimate the number of Muslims in the country

A new poll shows most Australians think there are more Muslims in the country than there actually are.

Eid al-Adha prayers in Sydney (SBS)

Eid al-Adha prayers in Sydney (SBS) Source: Eid al-Adha prayers in Sydney (SBS)

Australians apparently overestimate the number of Muslims in the country.

A new poll shows most voters believe around three to five per cent of the nation's population is Muslim.

The actual figure is 2.2 per cent, based on the 2011 Census figures.
The Essential Poll released on Tuesday also showed 53 per cent of voters were very worried about the population of Muslims, while 42 per cent were not at all concerned.

Concern is higher among Liberal-National voters while it's slightly lower among Greens voters (32 per cent).

However, the number of those worried about Muslims only dropped slightly when they were presented with the actual Census population figures around Muslims.
An equal 47 per cent of people remained concerned when told it was only 2.2 per cent.

On rejecting people based on their religion, a majority 56 per cent were against the move, as opposed to 24 per cent who said it should be possible to block people from entering the country because of their religion.

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Published 11 October 2016 7:08pm
Updated 11 October 2016 9:35pm
Source: AAP


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