Dementia in vulnerable groups

Australians living with dementia come from diverse backgrounds and have unique and variable needs for services and support. As the prevalence of dementia continues to increase, the rising proportion of care users with special needs and preferences have become a stronger focus of the aged care sector (Australian Government 2019). 

The following pages present statistics and information on:

Refer to the Technical notes for more information on the data sources and methods used to examine dementia in vulnerable population groups. 

Refer to the Indigenous Australians data tables and Vulnerable populations data tables for the underlying data presented on these pages. 

Key statistics 

In 2018, 28% of people with dementia in Australia were born in a non-English speaking country
People with dementia from non-English speaking countries are more likely to rely on informal carers only
During 2017–2019, dementia was the 5th leading cause of death among Indigenous Australians aged 65 and over
Down syndrome was the leading cause of death in people aged under 65 with dementia as an associated cause of death