In Australia, Buddhism is a minority religion. According to the 2016 census, 2.4 percent of the total population of Australia identified as Buddhist. It was also the fastest-growing religion by percentage, having increased its number of adherents by 79 percent between the 1996 and 2001 censuses. The highest percentage of Buddhists in Australia is present in Christmas Island, where Buddhists constitute 18.1% of the total population according to the 2016 Census. Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the country after Christianity , Islam and Hinduism. Demographics The change in demography of Buddhism in Australia is given: 2011 census data showed the Buddhist affiliated population had grown from 418,749 to 528,977 people, an increase of 20.8%. As Australia's population was estimated at 21.5 million at the time, according to the same census, the Buddhist population may be estimated at 2.46% of the population. According to the , the Buddhist population numbered 563,677 individuals, of whom 33% live in Greater Sydney, 30% in Greater Melbourne, and 8% each in Greater Brisbane and Greater Perth. The states and territories with the highest proportion of Buddhists are Victoria (3.07%) and New South Wales (2.78%), whereas those with the lowest are Queensland (1.51%) and Tasmania (0.79%). The highest percentage of Buddhists are present in Christmas Island, where Buddhism constitute 18.1% of the total population according to the 2016 Census. Buddhism was the largest religion in Christmas island till 2013, later Islam become the dominant religion there when Malays become biggest ethnic group in the island. History The first clear example of Buddhist settlement in Australia dates to 1858. However, there has been speculation from some anthropologists that there may have been contact hundreds of years earlier; in the book Aboriginal Men of High Degree, A.P. Elkin cites what he believes is evidence that traders from Indonesia may have brought fleeting contact with Buddhism and Hinduism to areas near modern-day Dampier. Elkin interpreted a link between Indigenous Australian culture and Buddhist ideas such as reincarnation. He argued this link could have been brought through contact with Macassan traders. There was also speculation due to reports of Chinese relics appearing in northern Australia dating to the 15th century, although it may have been brought much later through trade rather than earlier exploration. In 1851, the first large group of Chinese to come to Australia came as part of the gold rush, most of them staying briefly