Northern Territory

Latest release
2021 Census Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people QuickStats
Geography type State/Territory
Area code 7
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 61,115
Male 49.6%
Female 50.4%
Median age 26
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families 15,507
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander households 15,255
Average number of people per household 3.8
Median weekly household income $1,318
Median monthly mortgage repayments $2,000
Median weekly rent (a) $130

(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 Northern Territory, 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander total 61,115 26.3 58,247 25.5 812,728 3.2
Aboriginal 58,566 25.2 55,806 24.4 742,882 2.9
Torres Strait Islander 692 0.3 740 0.3 33,765 0.1
Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 1,852 0.8 1,692 0.7 36,083 0.1
Non-Indigenous 152,705 65.6 147,328 64.4 23,375,949 91.9
Not stated 18,775 8.1 23,258 10.2 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Median age 26 N/A 25 N/A 24 N/A
0-4 years 5,365 8.8 5,593 9.6 85,941 10.6
5-14 years 11,809 19.3 11,888 20.4 179,604 22.1
15-24 years 11,436 18.7 11,099 19.1 150,057 18.5
25-34 years 10,180 16.7 9,635 16.5 117,969 14.5
35-44 years 8,173 13.4 7,705 13.2 87,910 10.8
45-54 years 6,858 11.2 6,395 11.0 81,802 10.1
55-64 years 4,458 7.3 3,716 6.4 61,759 7.6
65 years and over 2,846 4.7 2,209 3.8 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Married 15,538 35.4 15,937 39.1 127,525 23.3
Separated 1,527 3.5 1,474 3.6 23,982 4.4
Divorced 1,451 3.3 1,320 3.2 37,473 6.8
Widowed 2,043 4.6 2,046 5.0 16,329 3.0
Never married 23,389 53.2 19,990 49.0 341,871 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Registered marriage (a) 11,406 30.0 10,602 31.5 112,643 23.0
De facto marriage (b) 4,659 12.2 4,255 12.7 81,295 16.6
Not married 22,023 57.8 18,771 55.8 296,032 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Preschool 1,325 6.5 1,345 6.0 25,485 8.0
Primary 7,964 38.8 7,758 34.5 120,864 37.9
Secondary 4,658 22.7 4,745 21.1 83,631 26.2
Tertiary - Vocational education (including TAFE and private training providers) 536 2.6 469 2.1 21,273 6.7
Tertiary - University or higher education 626 3.1 503 2.2 21,149 6.6
Other 350 1.7 285 1.3 7,310 2.3
Not stated 5,064 24.7 7,381 32.8 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Bachelor Degree level and above 1,305 3.0 966 2.4 40,554 7.4
Advanced Diploma and Diploma level 1,139 2.6 955 2.3 34,681 6.3
Certificate level IV 1,019 2.3 734 1.8 23,374 4.3
Certificate level III 3,334 7.6 2,487 6.1 84,821 15.5
Year 12 5,976 13.6 4,162 10.2 82,998 15.2
Year 11 5,100 11.6 3,806 9.3 43,335 7.9
Year 10 9,124 20.8 6,544 16.1 102,707 18.8
Certificate level II 130 0.3 144 0.4 1,262 0.2
Certificate level I 90 0.2 96 0.2 241 0.0
Year 9 or below 9,421 21.4 9,039 22.2 75,326 13.8
Inadequately described 733 1.7 864 2.1 11,038 2.0
No educational attainment 1,387 3.2 1,283 3.1 5,242 1.0
Not stated 5,179 11.8 9,694 23.8 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Kriol 5,163 8.4 4,362 7.5 7,403 0.9
Djambarrpuyngu 3,833 6.3 4,259 7.3 3,839 0.5
Warlpiri 2,455 4.0 2,157 3.7 2,592 0.3
Murrinh Patha 2,030 3.3 1,954 3.4 2,063 0.3
Tiwi 1,999 3.3 1,992 3.4 2,053 0.3
 null  null  null  null  null  null  null
Australian Indigenous languages used at home 35,782 58.5 34,731 59.6 76,978 9.5
English only used at home 20,390 33.4 17,682 30.4 683,122 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Australian Aboriginal 56,364 92.2 37,474 64.3 695,359 85.6
Australian 6,423 10.5 14,040 24.1 277,467 34.1
English 2,685 4.4 3,763 6.5 131,618 16.2
Torres Strait Islander 2,203 3.6 364 0.6 57,353 7.1
Irish 850 1.4 1,282 2.2 31,853 3.9

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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
In the labour force 15,568 35.4 15,200 37.3 296,172 54.1
Not in the labour force 26,214 59.7 21,860 53.6 234,314 42.8
Not stated 2,164 4.9 3,701 9.1 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Employed  null  null  null  null  null  null
Worked full-time 7,324 47.0 6,867 45.2 144,659 48.8
Worked part-time 3,712 23.8 3,129 20.6 87,019 29.4
Away from work (a) 1,302 8.4 1,140 7.5 28,075 9.5
Total employed 12,329 79.2 11,139 73.3 259,754 87.7
Unemployed 3,239 20.8 4,064 26.7 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Community and Personal Service Workers 2,747 22.3 2,362 21.2 45,221 17.4
Professionals 2,289 18.6 1,957 17.6 36,013 13.9
Clerical and Administrative Workers 1,765 14.3 1,544 13.9 30,731 11.8
Labourers 1,388 11.3 1,539 13.8 37,003 14.2
Technicians and Trades Workers 1,300 10.5 1,060 9.5 35,333 13.6
Managers 947 7.7 647 5.8 21,218 8.2
Machinery Operators and Drivers 690 5.6 681 6.1 23,291 9.0
Sales Workers 638 5.2 627 5.6 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Local Government Administration 1,025 8.3 878 7.9 6,639 2.6
State Government Administration 753 6.1 657 5.9 5,577 2.1
Combined Primary and Secondary Education 653 5.3 395 3.5 3,592 1.4
Other Social Assistance Services 456 3.7 286 2.6 10,154 3.9
Supermarket and Grocery Stores 434 3.5 409 3.7 8,816 3.4

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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Personal (b) 323 N/A 281 N/A 540 N/A
Family (c) 947 N/A 854 N/A 1,527 N/A
Household (d) 1,318 N/A 1,225 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Did unpaid domestic work (week before Census Night) 28,806 65.6 25,149 61.7 328,022 59.9
Provided unpaid care for child/children (during two weeks before Census Night) 19,556 44.5 17,076 41.9 166,628 30.5
Provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition or due to old age (during two weeks before Census Night) 5,874 13.4 6,043 14.8 76,568 14.0
Did voluntary work through an organisation or group (last 12 months) 2,551 5.8 4,294 10.5 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Arthritis 1,151 1.9 N/A N/A 50,807 6.3
Asthma 3,178 5.2 N/A N/A 107,162 13.2
Cancer (including remission) 376 0.6 N/A N/A 12,927 1.6
Dementia (including Alzheimer's) 306 0.5 N/A N/A 3,610 0.4
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes) 4,258 7.0 N/A N/A 47,688 5.9
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina) 3,161 5.2 N/A N/A 30,160 3.7
Kidney disease 1,216 2.0 N/A N/A 10,053 1.2
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema) 673 1.1 N/A N/A 17,552 2.2
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) 2,237 3.7 N/A N/A 107,776 13.3
Stroke 322 0.5 N/A N/A 7,059 0.9
Any other long-term health condition(s) 3,562 5.8 N/A N/A 70,592 8.7
No long-term health condition(s) 41,155 67.3 N/A N/A 462,348 56.9
Not stated 5,339 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
None of the selected conditions 43,456 71.1 N/A N/A 493,110 60.7
One condition 9,255 15.1 N/A N/A 167,204 20.6
Two conditions 2,063 3.4 N/A N/A 54,174 6.7
Three or more conditions 1,000 1.6 N/A N/A 32,701 4.0
Not stated 5,339 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Number of dwellings requiring one or more extra bedroom(s) (a) 4,385 28.7 4,084 32.0 31,268 8.9
Average number of people per household 3.8 N/A 4 N/A 3.1 N/A
Average number of persons per bedroom 1.4 N/A 1.5 N/A 1 N/A
Average number of registered motor vehicles per dwelling 1.2 N/A 1.2 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Median weekly rent (a) $130 N/A $100 N/A $300 N/A
Median monthly mortgage repayments $2,000 N/A $2,167 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
One family household: Couple family with no children 2,082 13.6 1,713 13.4 62,751 17.8
One family household: Couple family with children 4,322 28.3 3,855 30.2 104,435 29.7
One family household: One parent family 3,021 19.8 2,401 18.8 86,135 24.5
One family household: Other family 471 3.1 369 2.9 7,040 2.0
Multiple family household: Couple family with no children 249 1.6 387 3.0 2,130 0.6
Multiple family household: Couple family with children 1,276 8.4 1,085 8.5 6,813 1.9
Multiple family household: One parent family 973 6.4 826 6.5 8,606 2.4
Multiple family household: Other family 100 0.7 149 1.2 412 0.1
Other household 2,768 18.1 1,968 15.4 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Separate house 11,789 77.3 10,017 78.5 281,729 80.0
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc. 1,916 12.6 1,308 10.3 38,396 10.9
Flat or apartment 1,286 8.4 1,043 8.2 27,919 7.9
Other dwelling 160 1.0 279 2.2 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 		Northern Territory, 2021 % Northern Territory, 2021 Northern Territory, 2016 % Northern Territory, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Owned outright 960 6.3 728 5.7 48,452 13.8
Owned with a mortgage (a) 2,459 16.1 2,025 15.9 96,647 27.5
Rented (b) 10,583 69.4 8,791 68.9 192,703 54.7
Other (c) 774 5.1 588 4.6 5,582 1.6
Not stated 475 3.1 629 4.9 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.