Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

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Preliminary 2021 Census-based estimated resident population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians

Reference period

June 2021

Released

21/09/2022

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Key statistics

As at 30 June 2021 there were 984,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, representing 3.8% of the total Australian population.
This is an increase of 185,600 people (23.2%) since 30 June 2016.
One-third (33.1%) of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population was under 15 years of age.

This publication presents preliminary estimates of resident Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians. Final estimates will be released in August 2023 with further disaggregation (including sub-state estimates).

The increase in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is not wholly explained by demographic factors. Further explanation of the change in Census counts between 2016 and 2021 is planned to be published in early 2023.

Time series data will be released in 2024 in Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2011 to 2031.

The preliminary estimated resident populations released in this publication are based on 2021 Census counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, adjusted for net undercount as measured by Post Enumeration Survey. Details of the estimation methodology are provided in Methodology.

States and territories

New South Wales had the largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population (339,500 people), followed by Queensland (273,200 people) and Western Australia (120,000 people). These three states comprised almost three-quarters of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population (732,800 people or 74.5%).
The Northern Territory had the highest proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people relative to its total population size (30.8%), while Victoria had the lowest (1.2%).

Preliminary population estimates, Indigenous status by state and territory – 30 June 2021
State or territory of usual residence	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander	Non-Indigenous	Total
New South Wales	339,546	7,754,269	8,093,815
Victoria	78,698	6,469,342	6,548,040
Queensland	273,224	4,944,429	5,217,653
South Australia	52,083	1,751,109	1,803,192
Western Australia	120,037	2,629,827	2,749,864
Tasmania	33,894	534,015	567,909
Northern Territory	76,736	172,464	249,200
Australian Capital Territory	9,544	444,014	453,558
Australia(a)	984,002	24,704,077	25,688,079

a. Includes Other Territories.

Age and sex structure

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population had a younger age structure than the non-Indigenous population, with both larger proportions of young people and smaller proportions of older people. This reflects higher birth rates and lower life expectancy in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population compared with that in the non-Indigenous population.

One-third (33.1%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were aged under 15 years compared with 17.9% of non-Indigenous people in the same age group.
People aged 65 years and over comprised 5.4% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population compared with 17.2% of the non-Indigenous population.
The age structures of the male and female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations were similar.
Overall, there were slightly more males than females (a sex ratio of 101 males to every 100 females), but females outnumbered males in age groups over 35 years.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations – 30 June 2021
	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males	Non-Indigenous males	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females	Non-Indigenous females
0-4	5.55	2.92	5.21	2.76
5-9	5.73	3.14	5.35	2.97
10-14	5.76	3.15	5.53	2.97
15-19	5.00	2.89	4.76	2.72
20-24	4.51	3.21	4.30	3.01
25-29	4.05	3.56	3.94	3.50
30-34	3.42	3.67	3.38	3.75
35-39	2.89	3.64	2.92	3.69
40-44	2.41	3.21	2.57	3.29
45-49	2.48	3.21	2.61	3.27
50-54	2.32	3.12	2.52	3.21
55-59	1.95	3.01	2.13	3.10
60-64	1.58	2.82	1.72	2.98
65-69	1.10	2.46	1.22	2.63
70-74	0.73	2.22	0.81	2.36
75-79	0.37	1.56	0.45	1.68
80-84	0.18	1.00	0.26	1.19
85+	0.11	0.84	0.18	1.31

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations – 30 June 2021

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Estimates of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population are based on Census counts which are a self-identified population. It is therefore possible for the population age distribution to change between Censuses for reasons other than the usual demographic ones (i.e., population ageing etc.). To determine if the age distribution of the 2016 and 2021 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations have changed because of non-demographic factors (such as changing identification over time), the index of dissimilarity is calculated, which measures the overall difference between the two age distributions (Shyrock et al., 1976:131).

The index of dissimilarity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations over the two successive Census years showed low values within the theoretical range of 0 to 100. The smaller the index of dissimilarity values are, the more similar the two age distributions are. This suggests that changing identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people between the two Censuses is not having a large effect on the age structure of this population.

The index value for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population was 3.5 for males and 3.6 for females, compared with 2.9 for males and 3.1 for females in the total Australian population.
The index values for most states and territories were less than 5.0 for both sexes.
Tasmania and the ACT had higher index values than other states and territories which may in part reflect the small size of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in these jurisdictions.

Index of dissimilarity between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander age structures – 30 June 2016 and 30 June 2021
	Males	Females
State or territory	index	index
New South Wales	3.2	3.7
Victoria	4.8	3.8
Queensland	4.2	3.8
South Australia	4.1	4.3
Western Australia	3.7	3.3
Tasmania	5.2	5.3
Northern Territory	2.6	3.5
Australian Capital Territory	6.9	4.4
Australia(a)	3.5	3.6

a. Includes Other Territories.

Data downloads

Table 1: Estimated resident Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, by sex and age groups, states and territories – 2021

Data files

Download xlsx [52.08 KB]

Table 2: Estimated resident Australian non-Indigenous population, by sex and age groups, states and territories – 2021

Data files

Download xlsx [52.62 KB]

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 3238.0.55.001.

Methodology

Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians methodology, June 2021

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APA

Citation

Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

APA

Citation

Key statistics

States and territories

Age and sex structure

Data downloads

Table 1: Estimated resident Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, by sex and age groups, states and territories – 2021

Table 2: Estimated resident Australian non-Indigenous population, by sex and age groups, states and territories – 2021

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

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APA

Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

APA

Key statistics

States and territories

Age and sex structure

Data downloads

Table 1: Estimated resident Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, by sex and age groups, states and territories – 2021

Table 2: Estimated resident Australian non-Indigenous population, by sex and age groups, states and territories – 2021

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Media releases

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population approaching 1 million

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