South Australia

Latest release
2021 Census Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people QuickStats
Geography type State/Territory
Area code 4
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 42,562
Male 49.7%
Female 50.3%
Median age 24
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families 14,901
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander households 19,393
Average number of people per household 3
Median weekly household income $1,282
Median monthly mortgage repayments $1,365
Median weekly rent (a) $250

(a) For 2021, median weekly rent calculations exclude dwellings being occupied rent-free.

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All tables refer to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander persons in South Australia, unless otherwise stated.
Small random changes have been made to all cell values for privacy reasons. These changes may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from the table totals.

People and population

Indigenous status
All people 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander total 42,562 2.4 34,181 2.0 812,728 3.2
Aboriginal 40,592 2.3 32,616 1.9 742,882 2.9
Torres Strait Islander 994 0.1 941 0.1 33,765 0.1
Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 967 0.1 627 0.0 36,083 0.1
Non-Indigenous 1,669,314 93.7 1,557,007 92.9 23,375,949 91.9
Not stated 69,646 3.9 85,467 5.1 1,234,112 4.9

More information on Place of Usual Residence (PURP), Indigenous status (INGP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Age
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Median age 24 N/A 23 N/A 24 N/A
0-4 years 4,544 10.7 3,793 11.1 85,941 10.6
5-14 years 9,367 22.0 7,632 22.3 179,604 22.1
15-24 years 7,764 18.2 6,562 19.2 150,057 18.5
25-34 years 6,352 14.9 4,855 14.2 117,969 14.5
35-44 years 4,550 10.7 3,711 10.9 87,910 10.8
45-54 years 4,300 10.1 3,611 10.6 81,802 10.1
55-64 years 3,285 7.7 2,439 7.1 61,759 7.6
65 years and over 2,392 5.6 1,579 4.6 47,677 5.9

More information on Age (AGEP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Registered marital status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Married 5,912 20.6 4,781 21.0 127,525 23.3
Separated 1,285 4.5 1,014 4.5 23,982 4.4
Divorced 1,972 6.9 1,570 6.9 37,473 6.8
Widowed 893 3.1 756 3.3 16,329 3.0
Never married 18,590 64.9 14,644 64.3 341,871 62.5

Note: In December 2017, amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 came into effect enabling marriage equality for all couples. For 2021, registered marriages include all couples.

More information on Registered marital status (MSTP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Social marital status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over, usually resident and present in the household on Census night 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Registered marriage (a) 5,057 20.0 3,858 19.6 112,643 23.0
De facto marriage (b) 4,050 16.0 3,236 16.4 81,295 16.6
Not married 16,185 64.0 12,583 63.9 296,032 60.4

(a) In December 2017, amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 came into effect enabling marriage equality for all couples. For 2021, registered marriages include all couples.
(b) De facto marriage is when two people live together as partners who are not in a registered marriage. It includes people who report de facto, partner, common law husband/wife/spouse, lover, girlfriend or boyfriend.

More information on Social marital status (MDCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Education

Type of educational institution attending
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people attending an educational institution 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Preschool 1,578 9.3 1,023 7.1 25,485 8.0
Primary 7,015 41.2 5,406 37.6 120,864 37.9
Secondary 3,965 23.3 3,167 22.0 83,631 26.2
Tertiary - Vocational education (including TAFE and private training providers) 902 5.3 802 5.6 21,273 6.7
Tertiary - University or higher education 1,086 6.4 848 5.9 21,149 6.6
Other 372 2.2 304 2.1 7,310 2.3
Not stated 2,104 12.4 2,853 19.8 38,814 12.2

More information Type of educational institution attending (TYPP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Level of highest educational attainment
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Bachelor Degree level and above 1,886 6.6 1,197 5.3 40,554 7.4
Advanced Diploma and Diploma level 1,508 5.3 1,160 5.1 34,681 6.3
Certificate level IV 1,192 4.2 777 3.4 23,374 4.3
Certificate level III 4,341 15.2 2,932 12.9 84,821 15.5
Year 12 4,118 14.4 2,845 12.5 82,998 15.2
Year 11 3,641 12.7 2,909 12.8 43,335 7.9
Year 10 4,888 17.1 3,513 15.4 102,707 18.8
Certificate level II 72 0.3 79 0.3 1,262 0.2
Certificate level I 12 0.0 12 0.1 241 0.0
Year 9 or below 3,786 13.2 3,100 13.6 75,326 13.8
Inadequately described 637 2.2 566 2.5 11,038 2.0
No educational attainment 274 1.0 221 1.0 5,242 1.0
Not stated 2,290 8.0 3,454 15.2 41,467 7.6

More information on Level of highest educational attainment (HEAP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Cultural diversity

Australian Indigenous language, top responses
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Pitjantjatjara 2,211 5.2 1,811 5.3 3,399 0.4
Ngarrindjeri 402 0.9 284 0.8 451 0.1
Australian Indigenous Languages, nfd 345 0.8 600 1.8 4,197 0.5
Yankunytjatjara 322 0.8 107 0.3 594 0.1
Adnymathanha 236 0.6 126 0.4 254 0.0
 null  null  null  null  null  null  null
Australian Indigenous languages used at home 4,305 10.1 3,295 9.6 76,978 9.5
English only used at home 35,095 82.5 28,540 83.5 683,122 84.1

More information on Language used at home (LANP), Whether reported using an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander language at home (LNGP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Ancestry, top responses
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Australian Aboriginal 37,097 87.2 7,937 23.2 695,359 85.6
Australian 13,750 32.3 21,514 62.9 277,467 34.1
English 7,433 17.5 7,984 23.4 131,618 16.2
Irish 1,451 3.4 1,988 5.8 31,853 3.9
Torres Strait Islander 1,372 3.2 103 0.3 57,353 7.1

Note 1: Respondents had the option of reporting up to two ancestries on their Census form, and this is captured by the Ancestry multi response (ANCP) variable used in this table. Therefore, the sum of all ancestry responses for an area will not equal the total number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area.
Note 2: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of the number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area (including those who did not state an ancestry).

More information on Ancestry multi response (ANCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Income and work

Participation in the labour force
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
In the labour force 14,560 50.8 10,856 47.7 296,172 54.1
Not in the labour force 13,242 46.2 10,818 47.5 234,314 42.8
Not stated 852 3.0 1,086 4.8 16,695 3.1

Note 1: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over in the area.
Note 2: The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's labour force. More information is provided in Comparing 2021 Census and Labour Force Survey.
Note 3: For information on Community Development Program participation (CDPP), please refer to the Census Dictionary. CDPP data is available in TableBuilder.

More information on Labour force status (LFSP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Employment status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who reported being in the labour force, aged 15 years and over 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Employed  null  null  null  null  null  null
Worked full-time 6,603 45.4 4,771 43.9 144,659 48.8
Worked part-time 4,540 31.2 3,191 29.4 87,019 29.4
Away from work (a) 1,143 7.9 731 6.7 28,075 9.5
Total employed 12,285 84.4 8,693 80.1 259,754 87.7
Unemployed 2,274 15.6 2,157 19.9 36,419 12.3

Note 1: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over, who reported being in the labour force in the area.
Note 2: The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's labour force. More information is provided in Comparing 2021 Census and Labour Force Survey.
Note 3: For information on Community Development Program participation (CDPP), please refer to the Census Dictionary. CDPP data is available in TableBuilder.

(a) Counts employed people who reported 0 hours of work the week before the Census or did not state their hours of work.

More information on Labour force status (LFSP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Occupation, top responses
Employed Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Community and Personal Service Workers 2,360 19.2 1,673 19.2 45,221 17.4
Professionals 1,867 15.2 1,189 13.7 36,013 13.9
Labourers 1,813 14.8 1,373 15.8 37,003 14.2
Clerical and Administrative Workers 1,507 12.3 1,159 13.3 30,731 11.8
Technicians and Trades Workers 1,405 11.4 943 10.8 35,333 13.6
Machinery Operators and Drivers 1,030 8.4 715 8.2 23,291 9.0
Managers 939 7.6 610 7.0 21,218 8.2
Sales Workers 904 7.4 716 8.2 22,365 8.6

More information on Occupation (OCCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Industry of employment, top responses
Employed Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Other Social Assistance Services 503 4.1 315 3.6 10,154 3.9
Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 475 3.9 221 2.5 9,313 3.6
Supermarket and Grocery Stores 432 3.5 272 3.1 8,816 3.4
State Government Administration 359 2.9 337 3.9 5,577 2.1
Primary Education 303 2.5 218 2.5 6,313 2.4

More information on Industry of employment (INDP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Median weekly incomes (a)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Personal (b) 487 N/A 413 N/A 540 N/A
Family (c) 1,340 N/A 1,057 N/A 1,527 N/A
Household (d) 1,282 N/A 1,014 N/A 1,507 N/A

(a) Incomes are collected in ranges. The medians are then calculated using information from the Survey of Income and Housing.
(b) Excludes people aged 15 years and over who did not state their income.
(c) Excludes families where at least one family member aged 15 years and over did not state their income.
(d) Excludes households where at least one household member aged 15 years and over did not state their income.

More information on Total personal income (weekly) (INCP), Total family income (weekly) (FINF), Total household income (weekly) (HIND), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD), Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander family indicator (INGF)
Personal income data is based on place of usual residence
Family and household income data is based on place of enumeration

Unpaid work and care

Unpaid work and care
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Did unpaid domestic work (week before Census Night) 16,682 58.2 13,371 58.7 328,022 59.9
Provided unpaid care for child/children (during two weeks before Census Night) 8,266 28.9 6,559 28.8 166,628 30.5
Provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition or due to old age (during two weeks before Census Night) 4,114 14.4 3,026 13.3 76,568 14.0
Did voluntary work through an organisation or group (last 12 months) 3,062 10.7 3,236 14.2 58,029 10.6

More information on Unpaid domestic work: number of hours (DOMP), Unpaid child care (CHCAREP), Unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition, or due to old age (UNCAREP), Voluntary work for an organisation or group (VOLWP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Health

Type of long-term health condition
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Arthritis 2,770 6.5 N/A N/A 50,807 6.3
Asthma 5,965 14.0 N/A N/A 107,162 13.2
Cancer (including remission) 603 1.4 N/A N/A 12,927 1.6
Dementia (including Alzheimer's) 218 0.5 N/A N/A 3,610 0.4
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes) 3,001 7.1 N/A N/A 47,688 5.9
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina) 1,611 3.8 N/A N/A 30,160 3.7
Kidney disease 497 1.2 N/A N/A 10,053 1.2
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema) 951 2.2 N/A N/A 17,552 2.2
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) 6,156 14.5 N/A N/A 107,776 13.3
Stroke 363 0.9 N/A N/A 7,059 0.9
Any other long-term health condition(s) 4,048 9.5 N/A N/A 70,592 8.7
No long-term health condition(s) 23,215 54.5 N/A N/A 462,348 56.9
Not stated 3,717 8.7 N/A N/A 65,539 8.1

Note 1: Measures the number of people who reported that they have been told by a doctor or nurse that they have any of these long-term health conditions.
Note 2: Respondents had the option of reporting multiple long-term health conditions. Therefore, the sum of all long-term health condition responses for an area will not equal the total number of people in the area.
Note 3: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of the number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area (including those who did not answer the long-term health conditions question).
Note 4: 2016 comparison data is not available for this table. Long-term health conditions is a new question for the 2021 Census.

More information on Type of long-term health condition (LTHP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Count of selected long-term health conditions
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
None of the selected conditions 24,914 58.5 N/A N/A 493,110 60.7
One condition 8,929 21.0 N/A N/A 167,204 20.6
Two conditions 3,072 7.2 N/A N/A 54,174 6.7
Three or more conditions 1,935 4.5 N/A N/A 32,701 4.0
Not stated 3,717 8.7 N/A N/A 65,539 8.1

Note 1: Selected long-term health conditions include arthritis, asthma, cancer (including remission), dementia (including Alzheimer's), diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes), heart disease (including heart attack or angina), kidney disease, lung condition (including COPD or emphysema), mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) and stroke. Other long-term health conditions are not included in this count.
Note 2: 2016 comparison data is not available for this table. Long-term health conditions is a new question for the 2021 Census.

More information on Count of selected long-term health conditions (CLTHP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Housing

Dwelling characteristics
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Number of dwellings requiring one or more extra bedroom(s) (a) 1,586 8.2 1,219 8.2 31,268 8.9
Average number of people per household 3 N/A 3 N/A 3.1 N/A
Average number of persons per bedroom 1 N/A 1 N/A 1 N/A
Average number of registered motor vehicles per dwelling 1.7 N/A 1.6 N/A 1.9 N/A

(a) The Canadian National Occupancy Standard for Housing Appropriateness is used to determine whether there are enough bedrooms in the dwelling for the usual residents. See Housing suitability information below for more details.

More information on Number of bedrooms in private dwelling (BEDD), Household composition (HHCD), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD), Housing suitability (HOSD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Mortgage and Rent
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Median weekly rent (a) $250 N/A $220 N/A $300 N/A
Median monthly mortgage repayments $1,365 N/A $1,387 N/A $1,721 N/A

(a) Median rent calculations exclude dwellings being occupied rent-free. The 2016 figure presented above is conceptually comparable with the 2021 data, however this is not comparable with historical QuickStats as dwellings being occupied rent-free were included in the rented categories.

More information on Rent (weekly) dollar values (RNTD), Mortgage repayments (monthly) dollar values (MRED), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Family household composition
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
One family household: Couple family with no children 3,099 16.0 2,313 15.6 62,751 17.8
One family household: Couple family with children 5,207 26.8 3,986 26.9 104,435 29.7
One family household: One parent family 5,260 27.1 4,110 27.8 86,135 24.5
One family household: Other family 433 2.2 353 2.4 7,040 2.0
Multiple family household: Couple family with no children 78 0.4 97 0.7 2,130 0.6
Multiple family household: Couple family with children 254 1.3 151 1.0 6,813 1.9
Multiple family household: One parent family 435 2.2 234 1.6 8,606 2.4
Multiple family household: Other family 23 0.1 16 0.1 412 0.1
Other household 4,596 23.7 3,547 24.0 73,717 20.9

Note: This table counts the types of families within family households at the dwelling level. In multiple family households, only the family composition of the primary family is recorded. Other household includes lone person households and group households.

More information on Family household composition (dwelling) (HCFMD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Dwelling structure
Occupied private dwellings where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Separate house 15,034 77.5 11,457 77.4 281,729 80.0
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc. 3,234 16.7 2,518 17.0 38,396 10.9
Flat or apartment 988 5.1 701 4.7 27,919 7.9
Other dwelling 81 0.4 67 0.5 2,861 0.8

More information on Dwelling structure (STRD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Tenure type
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		South Australia, 2021 % South Australia, 2021 South Australia, 2016 % South Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Owned outright 2,243 11.6 1,506 10.2 48,452 13.8
Owned with a mortgage (a) 5,236 27.0 3,733 25.2 96,647 27.5
Rented (b) 11,085 57.2 8,703 58.8 192,703 54.7
Other (c) 319 1.6 252 1.7 5,582 1.6
Not stated 504 2.6 605 4.1 8,652 2.5

(a) Includes dwellings purchased under a shared equity scheme.
(b) Excludes dwellings being occupied rent-free. The 2016 figure presented above is conceptually comparable with the 2021 data, however this is not comparable with historical QuickStats as dwellings being occupied rent-free were included in the rented categories.
(c) Comprises dwellings occupied rent-free, occupied under a life tenure scheme and other tenure type

More information on Tenure type (TEND)
Table based on place of enumeration

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.