Australia is a diverse and dynamic nation. Understanding demographic and family trends is of critical importance in planning and delivering services to meet our different needs.
This section takes a look at our population's size, shape and composition with a particular focus on changes over recent decades.
Australians in brief
2.5% are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders
27% are migrants:
9.4% born in English-speaking countries
17.5% born in other countries
33% are aged less than 25,
including 7% aged 0–4
13% are aged 65 or over
Almost one in five have a disability
12% are informal carers for someone who has a disability or is ageing
More than half a million people work for community service organisations
69% of households own their home 
4% rent from a public housing authority 
Our population is growing and ageing
Australia's population in June 2010 was 22.3 million people. One-third were aged 0–24 while 13% were aged 65 or over (including 1% of the population who were aged 85 or older). The Indigenous population is younger: more than half of Australians of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent were aged under 25 in 2006, and only 3% were 65 or over.
The population grew by 78% between 1970 and 2010—an extra 10 million people. The number of people aged 65 or over almost tripled, while the number of children aged under 15 rose by only 17%.
Australian population structure
We are becoming more culturally diverse
In 2010, more than one in four (27%) of us were born overseas—a higher percentage than at any time in the past 100 years. The percentage born in main English-speaking countries has been steady at around 9% since the 1970s while migration from other countries continues to rise.
The top 5 countries of birth of migrants to Australia were the United Kingdom (5.3% of the population), New Zealand (2.4%), China (1.7%), India (1.5%) and Italy (1.0%). Country of origin varies between age groups. For example, one in 25 people aged 65 or over were born in Italy, compared to around one in 2,000 people aged less than 25. People aged 25–64 were more likely than younger or older people to come from China, India, the Philippines or Malaysia.
Population born overseas
Note: Main English-speaking countries are the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland, the USA, Canada and South Africa.
Fast facts
One in three people aged 65 or over were born outside Australia, compared to one in seven aged less than 25.
Australia's welfare Chapter 1
We live in different types of families
In 2009–10 there were 6.2 million family households; 2 million people lived alone, and there were a quarter of a million group households.
Almost half of all families living together consisted of a couple with children (44%), while 40% were couples without children and 14% were one-parent families. Other types of families made up less than 2% of co-resident families.
Couples without children are increasing as a percentage of all families that live together. This includes couples who have never (or not yet) had children, and couples whose children have moved out of home. The percentage of families that are lone parents with children has been fairly stable for over a decade.
Families living in the same household
Fast facts
In 2009–10, 73% of children aged under 18 lived in intact families; 9% lived in step or blended families and 18% lived in one-parent families.
Australia's welfare Chapter 2
One in five of us has a disability
Over 4 million Australians (18.5% of the population ) had some form of disability in 2009, including:
- 0.5 million children and young people aged 0–24
- 2.0 million people aged 25–64
- 1.6 million older people aged 65 or over
Almost 1.3 million people (5.8% of the population) sometimes or always needed help with daily activities relating to mobility, self-care or communication—referred to as having severe or profound core activity limitations. Boys aged 0–14 were twice as likely as girls to have severe or profound core activity limitations; among people aged 65 or over they were more common for females than males.
Population with a disability
Fast facts
While disability was most commonly caused by physical health conditions, one in five people with disability said that their main disabling condition was a mental or behavioural disorder (including intellectual and developmental disorders).
Australia's welfare Chapter 5
We are living longer, with more disability-free years
Some people are born with a disability or acquire disability at a young age. However, for many people disability is associated with health conditions related to ageing. This means that, generally speaking, the longer a person lives the more likely they are to experience disability at some time in their life.
Life expectancy for the average Australian boy born in 2009 was 79.3 years. Based on current disability rates, he could expect to live 61.6 years without any form of disability (or more than three-quarters of his total life expectancy). The average Australian girl born in 2009 could expect to live 83.9 years, of which 64.3 years were disability-free.
Life expectancy has increased for both males and females since 1998, and the latest information suggests that almost all of this increase will be extra years of life without disability.
Life expectancy at birth
Fast facts
While years lived with disability account for 22–23% of the average life expectancy, less than 10% are predicted to involve severe or profound disability (5.5 years for boys born in 2009 and 7.5 years for girls).
Australia's welfare Chapter 5