Australia and England remain at No.1 and No.2 but less so than in 2006.

The 2011 Census found 71.4 per cent of people in the ACT reported Australia as their country of birth in 2011 compared to 73 per cent in 2006.

England was the next most popular country of birth, with 3.7 people of people in the ACT reporting that as their home country in 2011 compared to 4 per cent in 2006.

New Zealand was the third most reported country of birth in the ACT in 2006 but was replaced by China in 2011 when 1.8 per cent of the population reported it as their country of origin.

Mandarin remained the second most popular language spoken at home after English, but increased from 1.1 per cent in 2006 to 1.9 per cent in 2011.

ACT Chinese Australian Association president Chin Wong was not surprised by the Census results.

"We organise regular activities and in recent years the number of people attending our activities has increased by almost 50 per cent," she said.

Ms Wong said Chinese students attending the Australian National University and University of Canberra often found jobs in the national capital.

Older Chinese-born people also liked Canberra.

"Canberra is a very, very good town for the elderly. It's not too big and they like the quiet life," Ms Wong said.