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Reissued at 12:30 on 28 June 2007
The number of Indigenous people who indicated they were attending TAFE or university in 1996 has been revised. The percentage increase is unchanged.

	MEDIA FACT SHEET
June 27, 2007	Embargoed 9.30 am (AEST)	70/2007
Census shows increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population

• In the 2006 Census of Population and Housing, 455,026 people (or 2.3% of the total Australian population) reported they were of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin. This represents an increase of 29% since the 1996 Census (352,970 Indigenous people). This growth reflects natural population increase (the excess of births over deaths) and other factors, including improvements in data collection methods and people newly identifying their Indigenous origin in the Census.

• In the 2006 Census, 407,700 people identified as being of Aboriginal origin only (90%), 29,512 people (6%) identified as being of Torres Strait Islander origin only and 17,811 (4%) as being of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin.

• The Indigenous population is relatively young, with a median age of 20 years compared with 37 years for the non-Indigenous population. Older Indigenous people (those aged 65 years or more) comprised just 3% of the Indigenous population compared with 13% of the non-Indigenous population.

• The number of Indigenous people who indicated they were attending TAFE or university increased from 14,420 in 1996 to 17,443 in 2006, an increase of 21%.

• Indigenous home ownership rates increased from 32% of households with Indigenous residents in 1996 to 36% in 2006. Home owners comprise households that own their home outright and those with a mortgage.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages were spoken in the home by 46,959 or 12% of Indigenous Australians (aged 5 years and over), of whom the majority (78%) were also proficient English speakers. The top five Indigenous languages spoken at home were Torres Strait Creole (5769 speakers), Arrernte (2797), Djambarrpuyngu (2730), Pitjantjatjara (2592) and Warlpiri (2469).

• More detailed data on Indigenous Australians is available from the ABS website.

2006 Census: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People(a)
	NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT	Aust.
Usual residence count	138 507	30 143	127 580	25 557	58 711	16 767	53 662	3 872	455 025
Proportion of total population	2.1	0.6	3.3	1.7	3.0	3.5	27.8	1.2	2.3
Population growth 1996 Census - 2006 Census	36	40	34	25	16	20	16	36	29
Attending technical or further education institution	4 183	895	2 346	717	1 032	664	413	128	10 386
Technical or further education institution attendance growth 1996 Census - 2006 Census	38	45	32	-3	-38	48	-13	56	17
Attending university or other tertiary institution	2 346	642	1 982	415	776	260	471	162	7 057
University or other tertiary institution attendance growth 1996 Census - 2006 Census	36	56	34	23	3	12	4	2	27
Home ownership rate	38	42	33	36	32	54	20	42	36
Home ownership rate 1996 Census	33	42	28	30	27	52	18	33	32
Speaks an Indigenous language at home	1	1	9	12	14	-	55	2	12
Indigenous median age (years) (b)	20	21	20	21	21	20	22	21	20
Non-Indigenous median age (years) (b)	37	37	36	39	36	40	34	34	37
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) These are usual residence census counts and include Other Territories. Official population estimates for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population are expected to be released in August 2007.
(b) The median age is the midpoint such that half the population is younger than the median and half is older.