Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the Indigenous peoples of Australia. They are not one group, but rather comprise hundreds of groups that have their own distinct set of languages, histories and cultural traditions (AIHW 2015). The health and welfare of Indigenous Australians living in the big cities are different to those living in the Torres Strait, which are different again to those living on the outskirts of Alice Springs or those living in remote communities.
This page provides some demographic information on the Indigenous population, as well as information on languages and cultures. Some information is also included on Closing the Gap.
Indigenous identification in data collections
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 also be required.
In 2016, an estimated 798,400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were in Australia, representing 3.3% of the total Australian population (ABS 2019b).
Among the Indigenous Australian population in 2016:
- 91% identified as being of Aboriginal origin (an estimated 727,500 people).
- 4.8% identified as being of Torres Strait Islander origin (an estimated 38,700 people).
- 4.0% were of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin (an estimated 32,200 people) (ABS 2018a).
Based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) projections, the number of Indigenous Australians in 2022 was estimated to be around 896,300. The Indigenous Australian population is projected to reach about 1.1 million people by 2031 (ABS 2019c).
About Indigenous populations estimates
The ABS produces Estimated Resident Populations (ERPs) for Indigenous Australians every 5 years (the Census years), with the latest available relating to 2016. The ABS also produces ‘backcast estimates’ for years before the Census year and ‘projections’ for future years, based on the latest Census year estimates along with assumptions about births, deaths and migration (see Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians for details).
This page uses ERP data for the 2016 Indigenous population, and ABS 2016 Census-based projections (Series B) for 2022 of the Indigenous population where available. Note that these projections, first published by the ABS in 2019, do not account for any impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Age distribution
The Indigenous population has a relatively young age structure. In 2016, the median age was 23.0 years, compared with 37.8 for non-Indigenous Australians (ABS 2018a).
In 2022, a projected 32% of Indigenous Australians are aged under 15 (compared with 18% of non-Indigenous Australians), and only 5.6% of Indigenous Australians are aged 65 and over (compared with 17% of non-Indigenous Australians) (Figure 1).