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

2021 estimated resident Aboriginal population, all ages and by 5-year age group (0-4 years to 65+ years), as a proportion of the total Australian population

Policy context: PHIDU publishes Aboriginal population by age and sex for Population Health Areas (PHAs) and Indigenous Areas (IAREs), and also uses these populations as a denominator when calculating percentages and rates for a large number of indicators for PHAs and IAREs.

As the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) does not publish ERP by age and sex for the Aboriginal population for PHAs or IAREs, PHIDU staff have calculated these populations from the limited data available: these estimates are designated as erp (PHIDU), to distinguish them from the ABS ERP, and are used in the maps, graphs and data worksheets available on the PHIDU website.

Caveats: Users should be aware of the potential inaccuracies in these estimates, given the limited data available on which to produce them. However, as many individuals and agencies, including PHIDU, require estimates at a smaller geographic level than published by the ABS, we provide the estimates and details of the approach we have taken in their calculation.

Method of calculation: The ERP for June 2021 for the Aboriginal population is available from the ABS for Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2, total population only): PHIDU produced a 2021 ERP for each IARE (total population only) from these SA2 populations. The ERP for 2021 for the Aboriginal population is available by Indigenous Region (IREG – the geographic level above the IARE), by 5-year age group, although not by sex. To produce estimated resident populations by age group and sex for each IARE, PHIDU applied the proportional age distribution from the Census count (usual resident population) in each IREG to the ERP total for each of its component IAREs.

Geography: Data available by Indigenous Area, Primary Health Network, Quintile of socioeconomic outcomes (based on IRSEO) and Remoteness Area

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

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

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

Source: Developed by PHIDU, using the method as noted above