Notes on the data: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, age distribution

2021 usual resident Aboriginal population by sex and 5-year age group: 0-4 years to 65+ years

 

Policy context: In the 2021 Census of Population and Housing, 812,728 people (or 3.2% of the total Australian population) identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin (referred to collectively here as ‘Aboriginal’ people), with 4.9% of the population not providing a response [1]. Of this figure, 91.4% identified as Aboriginal, 4.2% were Torres Strait Islander and 4.4% reported being of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin [1]. The proportion has increased at each Census since 1971, other than from 1976 to 1981, with an increase of 25.2% from 2016 to 2021 [2]; the change reflects natural population increase (the excess of births over deaths) and other factors, including improvements in data collection methods especially in rural and remote areas and, to a large extent, people newly identifying as Indigenous in the Census.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is considerably younger than the non-Indigenous population. In 2021, the median age was 24 years, 14 years less than the national median age of 38 years for the total population [2, 3]. One in three (33.6%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were estimated to be aged less than 15 years, while just 5.1% were aged 65 years and over (and although very low, this is higher than in 2011, when the proportion was 3.8%) [4].

Note: The data are the usual resident population (URP) derived from the Census. There is, however, a substantial difference between the Census counts (usual resident population (URP)) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (812,728) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS’) estimated resident population (ERP), adjusted for net undercount as measured by the Post Enumeration Survey undertaken by the ABS (an ERP of 984,002, which is 21.1% higher than the Census count) [5]. As the ABS has not released Aboriginal ERP by age at the Indigenous Area level, the geographical area used in the Social Health Atlases, the data published here are the URP, for which age/sex data are available. When further population data for the Aboriginal population become available from the ABS (scheduled for August 2023), PHIDU will examine the possibility of producing an estimated resident population by age at the Indigenous Area level, as was the case following the 2016 Census.

References

  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples Profile, ABS 2021, accessed 3 February 2023. Available from: https://abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS
  2. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing: Understanding the Increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Counts, Canberra: ABS; 2016, accessed 3 February 2023. Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/census-population-and-housing-understanding-increase-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-counts/latest-release#data-downloads
  3. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Regional growth by age and sex, Canberra: ABS; 2021, accessed 3 February 2023. Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population-age-and-sex/latest-release
  4. PHIDU (www.phidu.torrens.edu.au/data) based on the ABS Census of Population and Housing, August 2021
  5. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 Census overcount and undercount, accessed 20 February 2023. Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/2021-census-overcount-and-undercount/latest-release
 

Geography: Data available by Population Health Area, Local Government Area, Primary Health Network, and Remoteness Area

 

Numerator: Aboriginal male, female and total usual resident population by 5-year age group: 0-4 years to 65+ years

 

Denominator: Total Aboriginal males, females or persons, usual resident population

 

Detail of analysis: The age group as a percentage of the total Aboriginal population for males, females and persons

 

Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on the ABS Census of Population and Housing, August 2021

 

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