Lebanese Australians refers to citizens or permanent residents of Australia of Lebanese ancestry. The population is diverse, having a large Christian religious base, being mostly Maronite Catholics and Greek Orthodox, while also having a large Muslim group of both the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam, which also includes a large non-religious minority. (Christians are in the majority in the diaspora of Lebanese people worldwide, which is estimated as 8–14 million people, and much larger than the total population of Lebanon itself.)