In 2010–12, the estimated life expectancy at age 65 for Indigenous people was a further 13.9 years for males and 15.8 years for females [5]. An Indigenous girl born between 2010–12 had a life expectancy of 73.7 years, almost 10 years (9.5 years) less than for a non-Indigenous girl born in the same period [6]. The equivalent difference was greater for males: an Indigenous boy born between 2010–12 had a life expectancy that was 10.6 years less (69.1 years) than for a non-Indigenous boy (79.7 years) [5].
People born overseas
Older Australia is made up of people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In 2016, just over 3 in 10 (33%) people aged 65 and over were born overseas, up from 25% in 1981 [3].
One-fifth (20%) of people aged 65 and over in 2016 were born in a non-English speaking country, and a further 10% of older people were born in the United Kingdom and Ireland [4].
The most common non-English speaking countries of birth for older people were Italy (3% of all older people), Greece (2%) and Germany (1%). Italian was the most common non-English language spoken at home by people aged 65 and over in 2016 (110,000 people), then Greek (73,000) and Chinese (80,000) [3].
For more information on people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, see Diverse groups of older Australians.
Geographic distribution
Australia can be broadly divided into regions: Major cities, Inner regional, Outer regional, Remote and Very remote. In 2016, 66% of older people (2.4 million) lived in Major cities, 32% (1.2 million) in Inner regional and Outer regional areas and just over 1% (52,600) in Remote or Very Remote areas [4].
The most populous states have the largest share of older people, with one-third (33%) of all people aged 65 and over in 2016 living in New South Wales and 25% in Victoria. However, older people as a proportion of the total population varied across the jurisdictions: people aged 65 and over made up 19% of Tasmania's population, followed by South Australia (18%), New South Wales (16%) and Queensland (15%). Notably, just 7% of the Northern Territory's population was aged 65 and over, reflecting its larger Indigenous population [2].
You can explore the characteristics of older people in Australia in the interactive map.