Demographics

In 2020, 4.9% (14,384) of females who gave birth in Australia identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. Of these, 4.5% (13,050) identified as Aboriginal, 0.2% (588) identified as Torres Strait Islander and 0.3% (746) identified as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

For this report Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander females who gave birth are grouped together.

In 2020, the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females giving birth was 75 per 1,000 females of reproductive age

Birth rate

In 2020, almost 2 in 3 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers lived in New South Wales or Queensland

Geography

In 2020, nearly 1 in 5 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers lived in remote or very remote areas

Remoteness area

In 2020, 44% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers lived in the most disadvantaged areas

Socioeconomic status

In 2020, the average age of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers was 26.5 years

Maternal age

In 2020, 6.1% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers had a parity of 5 or more

Parity