At the 2021 Australian census, 278,043 people in New South Wales were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. New South Wales is Australia’s most populated state, also housing Australia’s largest city, Sydney. By comparison, Australia’s second largest state, Victoria, was home to around 66 thousand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

There are around 800,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, which represents just over three percent of the Australian population. Indigenous people are often referred to as Australia's first people or the traditional custodians of the land in recognition of their ancestors inhabiting Australia more than 60,000 years ago. Australia's Indigenous peoples are represented by two distinct groups. Aboriginal people come from the Australian mainland. Torres Strait Islander people inhabit the group of Islands between the northern tip of Queensland and Papua New Guinea and represent less than 40,000 people.

Closing the gap

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience significantly poorer health and wellbeing outcomes when compared to their non-Indigenous Australian counterparts. The average life expectancy of Indigenous Australians is around eight years shorter than that of the non-Indigenous population. In education, Indigenous Australians are also underrepresented, but attendance rates are improving and in 2019, full-time Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students numbered well over 200,000 people.

In June 2022, it was estimated that around 7.3 percent of Australians were aged between 25 and 29, and the same applied to people aged between 30 and 34. All in all, about 55 percent of Australia’s population was aged 35 years or older as of June 2022. At the same time, the age distribution of the country also shows that the share of children under 14 years old was still higher than that of people over 65 years old. A breakdown of Australia’s population growth Australia is the sixth-largest country in the world, yet with a population of around 26 million inhabitants, it is only sparsely populated. Since the 1970s, the population growth of Australia has remained fairly constant. While there was a slight rise in the Australian death rate in 2022, the birth rate of the country decreased after a slight rise in the previous year. The fact that the birth rate is almost double the size of its death rate gives the country one of the highest natural population growth rates of any high-income country.
National distribution of the population Australia’s population is expected to surpass 28 million people by 2028. The majority of its inhabitants live in the major cities. The most populated states are New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. Together, they account for over 75 percent of the population in Australia.

Australia: Percent of people aged 15+ who have a credit card: The latest value from 2021 is 51.41 percent, a decline from 59.69 percent in 2017. In comparison, the world average is 22.26 percent, based on data from 121 countries. Historically, the average for Australia from 2011 to 2021 is 58.47 percent. The minimum value, 51.41 percent, was reached in 2021 while the maximum of 64.23 percent was recorded in 2011.

The number of unemployed persons in Australia decreased to 612.60 Thousand in February of 2025 from 623.77 Thousand in January of 2025. This dataset provides - Australia Unemployed Persons - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

There were 22 700 000 Facebook users in Australia in December 2024, which accounted for 83.1% of its entire population. The majority of them were women - 52.4%. People aged 25 to 34 were the largest user group (5 800 000). The highest difference between men and women occurs within people aged 65 and above, where women lead by 1 100 000.

Australia Population Density: People per Square Km data was reported at 3.382 Person/sq km in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.339 Person/sq km for 2021. Australia Population Density: People per Square Km data is updated yearly, averaging 2.263 Person/sq km from Dec 1961 (Median) to 2022, with 62 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.382 Person/sq km in 2022 and a record low of 1.365 Person/sq km in 1961. Australia Population Density: People per Square Km data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.;Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank population estimates.;Weighted average;

As of June 2024, there were around 17.8 million people enrolled to vote in Australia, out of an eligible voting population of just over 18.1 million. Since 1924, Australia has instituted compulsory voting, resulting in very high voter turnouts during elections.

Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people in Australia, February, 2023 The most recent value is 82.72 Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people as of February 2023, no change compared to the previous value of 82.72 Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people. Historically, the average for Australia from February 2021 to February 2023 is 50.32 Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people. The minimum of 0 Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people was recorded in February 2021, while the maximum of 82.72 Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people was reached in November 2022. | TheGlobalEconomy.com

This dataset presents the estimates of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, non-Indigenous and total populations of Australia for the year ending at 30 June 2016, based on results of the 2016 Census of Population and Housing. The data is by Local Government Areas (LGA) following the 2016 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australia comprises people who are of Aboriginal origin, Torres Strait Islander origin or both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin. The Commonwealth definition of an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person is: a person of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent who; identifies as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin and who is; accepted as such by the community with which the person associates. This data is Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data (catalogue number: 3238.0.55.001) used with permission from the ABS. For more information please visit the ABS Explanatory Notes. Please note: AURIN has spatially enabled the original data.

Graph and download economic data for Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Working-Age Population Total: From 15 to 64 Years for Australia (LFWA64TTAUQ647S) from Q2 1978 to Q4 2024 about working-age, 15 to 64 years, Australia, and population.

The statistic shows the total population of Australia from 1980 to 2021, with projections up until 2029. In 2021, Australia had a total population of about 25.77 million people. Population of Australia Australia is among the ten largest countries in the world, in terms of area size, although its total population is low in relation to this. Much of Australia’s interior remains uninhabited, as the majority of Australians live in coastal metropolises and cities. Most of the population is of European descent (predominantly British), although there is a growing share of the population with Asian heritage; only a small percentage belongs to the indigenous Aboriginal population. Australia's year-on-year population growth is fairly high compared to most other economically and demographically advanced nations, due to comparatively high rates of natural increase and immigration. Living standards Standard of living is fairly high in Australia, which can be seen when looking at the Human Development Index, which ranks countries by their level of human development and living standards, such as their unemployment rate, literacy rate, or life expectancy at birth. Life expectancy of Australia’s population is quite high in international comparison, for example, Australia is also among the leading countries when it comes to this key factor.

Economically speaking, Australia is also among the leading nations, with a steadily rising employment rate, an increasing gross domestic product (GDP) with a steady growth rate, and a relatively stable share in the global GDP.

Civilian Population: 15 Years & Over: Male: 25-29 Years data was reported at 1,027.468 Person th in Jan 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,024.726 Person th for Dec 2024. Civilian Population: 15 Years & Over: Male: 25-29 Years data is updated monthly, averaging 701.207 Person th from Feb 1978 (Median) to Jan 2025, with 564 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,027.468 Person th in Jan 2025 and a record low of 579.783 Person th in Feb 1978. Civilian Population: 15 Years & Over: Male: 25-29 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.G001: Civilian Population: by Age, Sex and Status.

Civilian Population: Married: 15 Years & Over: Female: 35-44 Years data was reported at 1,489.116 Person th in Jan 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,499.149 Person th for Dec 2024. Civilian Population: Married: 15 Years & Over: Female: 35-44 Years data is updated monthly, averaging 1,105.174 Person th from Feb 1978 (Median) to Jan 2025, with 564 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,499.149 Person th in Dec 2024 and a record low of 686.817 Person th in Apr 1978. Civilian Population: Married: 15 Years & Over: Female: 35-44 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.G001: Civilian Population: by Age, Sex and Status.

Australia Employment: Technicians and Trades Workers data was reported at 1,967.392 Person th in Nov 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,948.350 Person th for Aug 2024. Australia Employment: Technicians and Trades Workers data is updated quarterly, averaging 1,497.384 Person th from Aug 1986 (Median) to Nov 2024, with 154 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,974.333 Person th in May 2024 and a record low of 1,236.877 Person th in Nov 1992. Australia Employment: Technicians and Trades Workers data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.G027: Employment: by Sex and by Occupation.

This dataset presents data on population and people available from the ABS Data by Region statistics. This release of Data by Region presents various data for 2011-2019 and Census of Population and Housing data for 2011 and 2016 and is based on the Local Government Area (LGA) 2019 boundaries. The dataset includes information in the following specified areas of population and people: Estimated Resident Population, Working Age Population, Median Age, Births and Deaths, Population Density, Internal and Overseas Migration, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Overseas Born Proportion, Religious Affiliation and Speaks language other than English.

Data by Region contains a standard set of data for each region type, depending on the availability of statistics for particular geographies. Data are sourced from a wide variety of collections, both ABS and non-ABS. When analysing these statistics, care needs to be taken as time periods, definitions, methodologies, scope and coverage can differ across collections. Where available, data have been presented as a time series - to enable users to assess changes over time. However, when looked at on a period to period basis, some series may sometimes appear volatile. When analysing the data, users are encouraged to consider the longer term behaviour of the series, where this extra information is available.

For more information please visit the Explanatory Notes.

AURIN has made the following changes to the original data:

• Spatially enabled the original data with the ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) LGA 2019 dataset.

• Some data values in Data by Region have been randomly adjusted or suppressed to avoid the release of confidential details.

• Where data was not available, not available for publication, nil or rounded to zero in the original data, it has been set to null.

• Columns and rows that did not contain any values in the original data have been removed.

Humans have been living on the continent of Australia (name derived from "Terra Australis"; Latin for "the southern land") for approximately 65,000 years, however population growth was relatively slow until the nineteenth century. Europeans had made some contact with Australia as early as 1606, however there was no significant attempt at settlement until the late eighteenth century. By 1800, the population of Australia was approximately 350,000 people, and the majority of these were Indigenous Australians. As colonization progressed the number of ethnic Europeans increased while the Australian Aboriginal population was decimated through conflict, smallpox and other diseases, with some communities being exterminated completely, such as Aboriginal Tasmanians. Mass migration from Britain and China After the loss of its American colonies in the 1780s, the British Empire looked to other parts of the globe to expand its sphere of influence. In Australia, the first colonies were established in Sydney, Tasmania and Western Australia. Many of these were penal colonies which became home to approximately 164,000 British and Irish convicts who were transported to Australia between 1788 and 1868. As the decades progressed, expansion into the interior intensified, and the entire country was claimed by Britain in 1826. Inland colonization led to further conflict between European settlers and indigenous Australians, which cost the lives of thousands of natives. Inward expansion also saw the discovery of many natural resources, and most notably led to the gold rushes of the 1850s, which attracted substantial numbers of Chinese migrants to Australia. This mass migration from non-European countries eventually led to some restrictive policies being introduced, culminating with the White Australia Policy of 1901, which cemented ethnic-European dominance in Australian politics and society. These policies were not retracted until the second half of the 1900s. Independent Australia Australia changed its status to a British dominion in 1901, and eventually became independent in 1931. Despite this, Australia has remained a part of the British Commonwealth, and Australian forces (ANZAC) fought with the British and their Allies in both World Wars, and were instrumental in campaigns such as Gallipoli in WWI, and the South West Pacific Theater in WWII. The aftermath of both wars had a significant impact on the Australian population, with approximately 90 thousand deaths in both world wars combined, as well as 15 thousand deaths as a result of the Spanish flu pandemic following WWI, although Australia experienced a significant baby boom following the Second World War. In the past fifty years, Australia has promoted immigration from all over the world, and now has one of the strongest economies and highest living standards in the world, with a population that has grown to over 25 million people in 2020.

Australia Share of Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training: Total: % of Youth Population data was reported at 7.913 % in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.389 % for 2022. Australia Share of Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training: Total: % of Youth Population data is updated yearly, averaging 9.800 % from Dec 2009 (Median) to 2023, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.400 % in 2009 and a record low of 7.913 % in 2023. Australia Share of Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training: Total: % of Youth Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Employment and Unemployment. Share of youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) is the proportion of young people who are not in education, employment, or training to the population of the corresponding age group: youth (ages 15 to 24); persons ages 15 to 29; or both age groups.;International Labour Organization. “Labour Force Statistics database (LFS)” ILOSTAT. Accessed January 07, 2025. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.;Weighted average;

Civilian Population: Married: 15 Years & Over: 45-54 Years data was reported at 2,384.536 Person th in Jan 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,380.898 Person th for Dec 2024. Civilian Population: Married: 15 Years & Over: 45-54 Years data is updated monthly, averaging 2,046.640 Person th from Feb 1978 (Median) to Jan 2025, with 564 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,415.182 Person th in Aug 2020 and a record low of 1,240.479 Person th in Sep 1982. Civilian Population: Married: 15 Years & Over: 45-54 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.G001: Civilian Population: by Age, Sex and Status.

Australia Internally Displaced Persons: New Displacement Associated with Disasters data was reported at 4,700.000 Case in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 17,000.000 Case for 2022. Australia Internally Displaced Persons: New Displacement Associated with Disasters data is updated yearly, averaging 10,500.000 Case from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2023, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 51,000.000 Case in 2020 and a record low of 1,000.000 Case in 2010. Australia Internally Displaced Persons: New Displacement Associated with Disasters data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Internally displaced persons are defined according to the 1998 Guiding Principles (http://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/1998/ocha-guiding-principles-on-internal-displacement) as people or groups of people who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of armed conflict, or to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights, or natural or human-made disasters and who have not crossed an international border. 'New Displacement' refers to the number of new cases or incidents of displacement recorded over the specified year, rather than the number of people displaced. This is done because people may have been displaced more than once.;The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (http://www.internal-displacement.org/);Sum;

This dataset contains estimates of the resident population and estimates of the components of population change as at 30 June for the years 2001-2020. The data is aggregated to the 2016 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2).

This data is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (Catalogue Number: 3218.0).

For more information please visit the Regional population methodology.

Notes: The population estimates in this issue are final for 2001 to 2016, revised for 2017 to 2019, and preliminary for 2020.

Estimated resident population (ERP) is the official estimate of the Australian population, which links people to a place of usual residence within Australia. Usual residence within Australia refers to that address at which the person has lived or intends to live for six months or more in a given reference year. For the 30 June reference date, this refers to the calendar year around it. Estimated resident population is based on Census counts by place of usual residence (excluding short-term overseas visitors in Australia), with an allowance for Census net undercount, to which are added the estimated number of Australian residents temporarily overseas at the time of the Census.

AURIN has ingested this dataset in its GeoPackage format.