# ARIA Award for Best World Music Album

The ARIA Music Award for Best World Music Album, is an award presented within the Fine Arts Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was inaugurated in 1995 as Best Folk/World/Traditional Release. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) since 1987.
Album recordings by a group or solo artist are eligible. The award is handed out for an indigenous, ethnic, folk or cross-cultural recording, and cannot be entered into any other genre category. The final nominees and winner are chosen by a judging school, which comprises between 40 and 100 members of representatives experienced in this genre.
Oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros has won the category seven times from eighteen nominations, Yolngu singer-songwriter-guitarist Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu won four times, while gypsy fusion band Monsieur Camembert have won the award three times.

## Nominees and winners

In the following table, the winner is highlighted in a separate colour, and in boldface; the nominees are those that are not highlighted or in boldface.
| Year | Artist(s) | Album Title |
| 1995 (9th) |
| 1995 (9th) | Yungchen Lhamo | Tibetan Prayer |
| 1995 (9th) | Bu Baca Diop | Stand |
| 1995 (9th) | The Celts | The Rocky Road |
| 1995 (9th) | Nomad | Nomad |
| 1995 (9th) | Sirocco | The Wetland Suite |
| 1995 (9th) | Various | Tribal Heart |
| 1996 (10th) |
| 1996 (10th) | Mara! | Ruino Vino |
| 1996 (10th) | Cafe of the Gate of Salvation | A Window in Heaven |
| 1996 (10th) | Dead Can Dance | Spiritchaser |
| 1996 (10th) | Sirocco | Stars and Fires |
| 1996 (10th) | Various | Womadelaide '95 |
| 1997 (11th) |
| 1997 (11th) | George Telek | Telek |
| 1997 (11th) | Ashok Roy | The Night Ragas |
| 1997 (11th) | The Barkers | The Black Joke |
| 1997 (11th) | Equa | Equa |
| 1997 (11th) | Mara! & Martenitsa Choir | Sezoni |
| 1998 (12th) |
| 1998 (12th) | Kavisha Mazzella | Fisherman's Daughter |
| 1998 (12th) | Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke | Duality |
| 1998 (12th) | Matt Walker | I Listen to the Night |
| 1998 (12th) | Tigramuna | Jazz Latino - Americano |
| 1998 (12th) | Tulipan | Manic Celeste |
| 1998 (12th) | Xylouris Ensemble | Antipodes |
| 1999 (13th) |
| 1999 (13th) | Habibis | Intoxication |
| 1999 (13th) | Lajamanu Teenage Band | Vision |
| 1999 (13th) | Sirocco | Falling Leaf |
| 1999 (13th) | Voices from the Vacant Lot | Dance on Your Bones |
| 1999 (13th) | Xylouris Ensemble | Drakos |
| 2000 (14th) |
| 2000 (14th) | Chris Duncan | Fyvies Embrace - The Golden Age of the Scottish Fiddle |
| 2000 (14th) | Riley Lee and Marshall McGuire | Spring Sea |
| 2000 (14th) | Timothy Kain and Virginia Taylor | Music of the Americas |
| 2000 (14th) | Inka Marka | Auki Auki |
| 2000 (14th) | Tim Gibuma and the Storm | The Gaba - Gabamawi |
| 2001 (15th) |
| 2001 (15th) | Mara! | Live in Europe |
| 2001 (15th) | Akin | Undercurrent |
| 2001 (15th) | Epizo Bangoura and African Express | Inchallah |
| 2001 (15th) | George Telek | Serious Tam |
| 2001 (15th) | Xenos | Tutti Frutti |
| 2002 (16th) |
| 2002 (16th) | Monsieur Camembert | Live on Stage |
| 2002 (16th) | Coda | There Is a Way to Fly |
| 2002 (16th) | Kim Sanders | You Can't Get There From Here |
| 2002 (16th) | Nabarlek | Bininj Manborlh / Blackfella Road |
| 2002 (16th) | Various | Corroboration |
| 2003 (17th) |
| 2003 (17th) | Monsieur Camembert | Absynthe |
| 2003 (17th) | All India Radio | All India Radio |
| 2003 (17th) | David Bridie | West Papua: Sound of the Morning Star |
| 2003 (17th) | Kavisha Mazzella | Silverhook Tango |
| 2003 (17th) | Zulya | Elusive |
| 2004 (18th) |
| 2004 (18th) | Seaman Dan | Perfect Pearl |
| 2004 (18th) | Jane Rutter and Slava Grigoryan | Brazil |
| 2004 (18th) | Joseph Tawadros | Storyteller |
| 2004 (18th) | Mohamed Bangoura | Djembe Kan |
| 2004 (18th) | Saltwater Band | Djarridjarri - Blue Flag |
| 2005 (19th) |
| 2005 (19th) | Monsieur Camembert | Monsieur Camembert |
| 2005 (19th) | Bobby McLeod | Dumaradje |
| 2005 (19th) | Cosmo Cosmolino | Nektar |
| 2005 (19th) | Le Tuan Hung and others | On the Wings of a Butterfly |
| 2005 (19th) | Southern Gospel Choir | Great Day |
| 2005 (19th) | Various Artists | This Is the Place for a Song |
| 2006 (20th) |
| 2006 (20th) | The Cat Empire | Cities: The Cat Empire Project |
| 2006 (20th) | Joseph and James Tawadros | Visions |
| 2006 (20th) | Mara! | Sorella |
| 2006 (20th) | The Pigram Brothers | Under the Mango Tree |
| 2006 (20th) | Seaman Dan | Island Way |
| 2007 (21st) |
| 2007 (21st) | Zulya and The Children of The Underground | 3 Nights |
| 2007 (21st) | Coco's Lunch | Blueprint |
| 2007 (21st) | Coda | Calling Mission Mu |
| 2007 (21st) | Joseph Tawadros | Epiphany |
| 2007 (21st) | Not Drowning, Waving | Maps for Sonic Adventures |
| 2008 (22nd) |
| 2008 (22nd) | Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu | Gurrumul |
| 2008 (22nd) | Archie Roach | Journey |
| 2008 (22nd) | David Jones | Colours of the Drum |
| 2008 (22nd) | Joseph Tawadros | Angel |
| 2008 (22nd) | Watussi | Tequila, Sangre y Fuego |
| 2009 (23rd) |
| 2009 (23rd) | Seaman Dan | Sailing Home |
| 2009 (23rd) | Fiona Joy Hawkins | Blue Dream |
| 2009 (23rd) | Kamerunga | The Push |
| 2009 (23rd) | Warren Fahey | Australia: Folk Songs & Bush Verse |
| 2009 (23rd) | Wicked Beat Sound System | Dreaming |
| 2010 (24th) |
| 2010 (24th) | Mamadou Diabate, Bobby Singh and Jeff Lang | Djan Djan |
| 2010 (24th) | Archie Roach | Music Deli Presents Archie Roach |
| 2010 (24th) | Joseph Tawadros | The Prophet: Music Inspired by the Poetry of Kahlil Gibran |
| 2010 (24th) | The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra | Do Anything Go Anywhere |
| 2010 (24th) | Xavier Rudd | Koonyum Sun |
| 2011 (25th) |
| 2011 (25th) | Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu | Rrakala |
| 2011 (25th) | David Bridie, Hein Arumisore, Jacob Rumbiak, Ronny Kareni and Donny Roem | Strange Birds in Paradise: A West Papuan Soundtrack |
| 2011 (25th) | Saltwater Band | Malk |
| 2011 (25th) | The Shaolin Afronauts | Flight of the Ancients |
| 2011 (25th) | Slava and Leonard Grigoryan, James and Joseph Tawadros | Band of Brothers |
| 2012 (26th) |
| 2012 (26th) | Joseph Tawadros | Concerto of the Greater Sea |
| 2012 (26th) | Dead Can Dance | Anastasis |
| 2012 (26th) | Nicky Bomba's Bustamento | Intrepid Adventures to the Lost Riddim Island |
| 2012 (26th) | Sarah Calderwood | As Night Falls |
| 2012 (26th) | Warren H Williams & the Warumungu Songmen | Winanjjara: The Song Peoples Sessions |
| 2013 (27th) |
| 2013 (27th) | Joseph Tawadros | Chameleons of the White Shadow |
| 2013 (27th) | Airileke | Weapon of Choice |
| 2013 (27th) | Rasa Duende | Improvisations |
| 2013 (27th) | Shellie Morris and The Borroloola Songwomen | Together We Are Strong – Ngambala Wigi Li – Wun the Song Peoples Sessions |
| 2013 (27th) | Various | Mélodie Française |
| 2014 (28th) |
| 2014 (28th) | Joseph Tawadros | Permission to Evaporate |
| 2014 (28th) | Astronomy Class | Mekong Delta Sunrise |
| 2014 (28th) | Jane Rutter | Flute Spirit: Dreams and Improvisations |
| 2014 (28th) | The Barons of Tang | Into the Mouths of Hungry Giants |
| 2014 (28th) | William Barton | Birdsong at Dusk |
| 2015 (29th) |
| 2015 (29th) | Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu | The Gospel Album |
| 2015 (29th) | Baby et Lulu | Album Deux |
| 2015 (29th) | Christine Anu | Island Christmas |
| 2015 (29th) | Genevieve Lacey / James Crabb | Heard This and Thought of You |
| 2015 (29th) | Joseph Tawadros | Truth Seekers, Lovers and Warriors |
| 2016 (30th) |
| 2016 (30th) | Melbourne Ska Orchestra | Sierra Kilo Alpha |
| 2016 (30th) | Gawurra | Ratja Yaliyali |
| 2016 (30th) | Joseph Tawadros | World Music |
| 2016 (30th) | Paul Grabowsky / Monash Art Ensemble / Daniel Ngukurr Boy Wilfred / David Yipininy Wilfred | Nyilipidgi |
| 2016 (30th) | Seaman Dan | An Old Man of the Sea |
| 2017 (31st) |
| 2017 (31st) | Katie Noonan and Karin Schaupp | Songs of the Latin Skies |
| 2017 (31st) | Joseph Tawadros | Live at Abbey Road |
| 2017 (31st) | Melbourne Ska Orchestra | Saturn Return |
| 2017 (31st) | Slava Grigoryan & Australian String Quartet | Migration |
| 2017 (31st) | Xylouris White | Black Peak |
| 2018 (32nd) |
| 2018 (32nd) | Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu | Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) |
| 2018 (32nd) | Joseph Tawadros | The Bluebird, the Mystic and the Fool |
| 2018 (32nd) | Melbourne Ska Orchestra | Ska Classics |
| 2018 (32nd) | Mista Savona | Havana Meets Kingston |
| 2018 (32nd) | Xylouris White | Mother |
| 2019 (33rd) |
| 2019 (33rd) | Melbourne Ska Orchestra | One Year of Ska |
| 2019 (33rd) | Chaika | Arrow |
| 2019 (33rd) | Joseph Tawadros | Betrayal of a Sacred Sunflower |
| 2019 (33rd) | Tara Tiba | Omid |
| 2019 (33rd) | Zela Margossian Quintet | Transition |
| 2020 (34th) |
| 2020 (34th) | Joseph Tawadros | Live at the Sydney Opera House |
| 2020 (34th) | Grace Barbé | FANM:WOMAN |
| 2020 (34th) | Melbourne Ska Orchestra | Live at the Triffid |
| 2020 (34th) | The Crooked Fiddle Band | Another Subtle Atom Bomb |
| 2020 (34th) | Xylouris White | The Sisypheans |
| 2021 (35th) |
| 2021 (35th) | Joseph Tawadros | Hope in an Empty City |
| 2021 (35th) | Bob Weatherall & Halfway with William Barton | Restless Dream |
| 2021 (35th) | Bukhchuluun Ganburged | The Journey |
| 2021 (35th) | Eishan Ensemble | Project Masnavi |
| 2021 (35th) | Kuya James | ISA |
| 2022 (36th) |
| 2022 (36th) | Joseph Tawadros with William Barton | History Has a Heartbeat |
| 2022 (36th) | Australian Art Orchestra, Daniel Wilfred, Sunny Kim, Peter Knight & Aviva Endean | Hand to Earth |
| 2022 (36th) | Mista Savona | Havana Meets Kingston Part 2 |
| 2022 (36th) | Parvyn | Sa |
| 2022 (36th) | William Barton and Véronique Serret | Heartland |
| 2023 (37th) |
| 2023 (37th) | Joseph Tawadros | Those Who Came Before Us |
| 2023 (37th) | Byron Mark | Odyssey |
| 2023 (37th) | East of West | Moving Home |
| 2023 (37th) | Mick Dick | Id of RA |
| 2023 (37th) | Songs of Disappearance | Australian Frog Calls |
| 2024 (38th) |
| 2024 (38th) | Dobby | Warrangu: River Story |
| 2024 (38th) | Christine Anu | Waku: Minaral a Minalay |
| 2024 (38th) | Joseph Tawadros | The Virtue of Signals |
| 2024 (38th) | Radical Son | Bilambiyal |
| 2024 (38th) | Soweto Gospel Choir & Groove Terminator | History of House |