Australia is over 90% Caucasian, and almost all of that is English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry. Due to Australia’s strict immigration controls, the large proportion of foreign born is disproportionately of European ancestry compared to the foreign born in the US. Likewise, because the US has a longer history of immigration, many people who aren’t immigrants nonetheless are members of a visible minority group. Thus, while Sydney has more than 40% of its population born abroad, versus under 20% for Chicago, to American eyes Sydney looks very white and homogenous by comparison to Chicago.