Indigenous Australians

There has been significant progress in the availability and quality of statistical information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over the last decade in Australia. Considerable effort has been devoted to enumerating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples more accurately through the Census. In addition, specific surveys of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are being conducted regularly to address information gaps in health and welfare information and allow for monitoring of changes over time. There are also a number of ongoing programs and strategies to develop more consistent and complete Indigenous identification across administrative data sets.

Although the incomplete recording of Indigenous status in administrative records and the experimental nature of Indigenous Australian population estimates remain barriers to the production of a true picture of Indigenous health and welfare in Australia, the available evidence suggests that Indigenous people continue to suffer a greater burden of ill health than the rest of the population.

As at 30 June 2001, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australia was estimated to be 458,500, or 2.4% of the total population. Persons identifying as 'Aboriginal origin' comprised about 90% of this estimated resident Indigenous population; persons of 'Torres Strait Islander origin' comprised 6%, and those with both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin comprised 4%.

Much greater proportions of the Indigenous Australian population are found in age groups under 20 years, compared with corresponding proportions in the non-Indigenous population, and lower proportions are found in age groups 40 years and over. In 2001 the median age of Indigenous Australians was 21 years, compared with 36 years for other Australians.

More than half of all Indigenous Australians lived in New South Wales and Queensland, with the majority residing in urban areas. New South Wales had the greatest number of Indigenous Australians (134,900) and the Northern Territory had the highest proportion, with around 29% of its population reporting being Indigenous. Around 25% of the Indigenous Australian population lived in areas classified as 'remote' or 'very remote', compared with only 2% of the non-Indigenous population.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disadvantaged across a range of socio-economic factors reported upon in the 2001 Census. They experienced lower incomes than the non-Indigenous population, higher rates of unemployment, poorer educational outcomes and lower rates of home ownership - all of which can impact upon a person's health and wellbeing.

Last reviewed by on 7 December 2006