Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the Indigenous peoples of Australia. They comprise hundreds of groups, each with its own distinct language, history and cultural traditions.
This page provides some demographic information on the Indigenous population, as well as information on languages and cultures.
In 2016, an estimated 798,400 Australians identified as Indigenous (3.3% of the total Australian population) (ABS 2019a). Among the Indigenous Australian population in 2016:
- 91% identified as being of Aboriginal origin
- 4.8% identified as being of Torres Strait Islander origin
- 4.0% were of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin (ABS 2018b).
Using estimated resident population (ERP) projections based on the 2016 Census of Population and Housing, it is projected that in 2020 around 864,200 people will identify as Indigenous Australians (ABS 2019a).
Indigenous identification
The Australian Government defines Indigenous Australians as people who: are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent; identify as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin; and are accepted as such in the communities in which they live or have lived.
In most data collections, a person is considered to be Indigenous if they identified themselves, or were identified by another household member, as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. For a few data collections, information on acceptance of a person as being Indigenous by an Indigenous community may be required.
Age distribution
The Indigenous Australian population has a relatively young age structure compared to non-Indigenous Australians (Figure 1). In 2020, a projected 33% of Indigenous Australians are aged under 15 (compared with 18% of non-Indigenous Australians), and only 5.2% of Indigenous Australians aged 65 and over (compared with 16% of non-Indigenous Australians) (ABS 2018a, 2019a).