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The final estimated resident Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population at 30 June 2006 was 517,000 people or 2.5% of the total Australian population. Of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, 90% were Aboriginal people, 6% were Torres Strait Islander people and the remaining 4% were both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population at 30 June 2006, 152,700 (30%) lived in New South Wales, 144,900 (28%) in Queensland, 71,000 (14%) in Western Australia and 64,000 (12%) in the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory had the largest proportion of its population who were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (30%), compared with 4% or less for all other states and the Australian Capital Territory.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is a relatively young population with a median age of 21 years compared with 37 years for the non-Indigenous population. In 2006, 38% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were aged under 15 years compared with 19% of non-Indigenous people. People aged 65 years and over comprised 3% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and 13% of the non-Indigenous population. The age structure of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population reflects higher rates of fertility and deaths occurring at younger ages. In 2010, the total fertility rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women (2.57 babies per woman) was higher than that for all women (1.89 babies per woman). In the period 2005--2007, life expectancy at birth was estimated to be 67.2 years and 72.9 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and females respectively. This is well below the estimates of 78.5 years and 82.4 years for total males and females respectively for the same period.
Statistics contained in the Year Book are the most recent available at the time of preparation. In many cases, the ABS website and the websites of other organisations provide access to more recent data. Each Year Book table or graph and the bibliography at the end of each chapter provides hyperlinks to the most up to date data release where available.
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This page first published 24 May 2012, last updated 11 November 2015
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ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER POPULATION
The final estimated resident Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population at 30 June 2006 was 517,000 people or 2.5% of the total Australian population. Of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, 90% were Aboriginal people, 6% were Torres Strait Islander people and the remaining 4% were both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population at 30 June 2006, 152,700 (30%) lived in New South Wales, 144,900 (28%) in Queensland, 71,000 (14%) in Western Australia and 64,000 (12%) in the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory had the largest proportion of its population who were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (30%), compared with 4% or less for all other states and the Australian Capital Territory.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is a relatively young population with a median age of 21 years compared with 37 years for the non-Indigenous population. In 2006, 38% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were aged under 15 years compared with 19% of non-Indigenous people. People aged 65 years and over comprised 3% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and 13% of the non-Indigenous population. The age structure of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population reflects higher rates of fertility and deaths occurring at younger ages. In 2010, the total fertility rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women (2.57 babies per woman) was higher than that for all women (1.89 babies per woman). In the period 2005--2007, life expectancy at birth was estimated to be 67.2 years and 72.9 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and females respectively. This is well below the estimates of 78.5 years and 82.4 years for total males and females respectively for the same period.
For further information, see chapter 3 ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLES.