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People and communities

Population

Measures



  • Total number of First Nations people based on Estimated Resident Population (ERP).

  • People as a proportion (%) of the total ERP, by sex, age group and Indigenous status.


Available by



  • Sex: males, females, persons.

  • Age group: under 5, 5–14, 15–24, 25–44, 45–64, 65 and over, all ages.

  • Indigenous status: First Nations, non-Indigenous.


Data period


30 June 2021


Data source


Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) ERP (2021 Census based) (ABS 2023a).


Region types



  • Main structures: Australia, states and territories, Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3), Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2).

  • Indigenous structures: Indigenous Regions (IREG).


Suppression


Data for percentages have been suppressed if the denominator was less than 100, due to concerns about the reliability of percentages based on small denominators.


Notes



  • The denominator for the age-specific and sex-specific proportions, is the total First Nations ERP.

  • Data have been randomly adjusted by the ABS to protect confidentiality. No reliance should be placed on small numbers.

  • For more information about the ABS ERP head to data sources.

Measures



  • Total number of First Nations people.

  • People as a proportion (%) of the total population, by sex, age group and Indigenous status.


Available by



  • Sex: males, females, persons.

  • Age group: under 5, 5–14, 15–24, 25–44, 45–64, 65 and over, all ages.

  • Indigenous status: First Nations, non-Indigenous.


Data period


Census night (10 August) 2021.


Data source


Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing (Census) (ABS 2022b).


Region types



  • Main structure: Australia, states and territories, Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3), Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2).

  • Indigenous structure: Indigenous Areas (IARE), Indigenous Locations (ILOC).

  • Non-ABS structures: Local Government Areas (LGA).


Suppression


Data for percentages have been suppressed if the denominator was less than 100, due to concerns about the reliability of percentages based on small denominators.


Notes



  • Data are based on place of usual residence (that is, the place where a person usually lives). It may or may not be the place the person was counted on Census night.

  • The denominator for First Nations population is the total (all ages) First Nations population in the selected region, and the denominator for non-Indigenous Australians is the total (all ages) non-Indigenous population in the region.

Measure


Median age of the population.


Available by


Indigenous status: First Nations, non-Indigenous.


Data period


30 June 2021


Data source


Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing (Census) (ABS 2022a).


Region types



  • Main structures: Australia, Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2).

  • Indigenous structures: Indigenous Area (IARE), Indigenous Location (ILOC).


Suppression


NIL


Notes



  • Median is the midpoint of a list of observations that have been ranged from smallest to largest.

Language

Measure


Proportion (%) of First Nations people by language spoken at home.


Language spoken at home categories



  • Indigenous Australian languages

  • English

  • other languages.


Available by


Sex: males, females, persons.


Data period


30 June 2021


Data source


Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing (Census) (ABS 2022b).


Region types



  • Main structures: Australia, states and territories, Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3), Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2).

  • Indigenous structures: Indigenous Regions (IREG), Indigenous Areas (IARE), Indigenous Locations (ILOC).

  • Non-ABS structures: Local Government Areas (LGA).


Suppression



  • Data have been suppressed if the denominator for the percentage was less than 100, due to concerns about the reliability of percentages based on small denominators.

  • Data have been suppressed if language spoken at home was not stated for >50% of the relevant population, due to relatively high exposure to potential bias.

  • Data have been flagged as interpret with caution if language spoken at home was not stated for 25%–50% of the relevant population, due to relatively high exposure to potential bias.


Notes



  • The denominator for the proportions is total number of respondents, excluding those for whom information on language spoken at home was not stated.

  • Data are based on responses to the Census question: ‘Does the person speak a language other than English at Home?’ Where the answer was yes, the respondent was asked to specify the language. Only one response could be provided, with the instructions indicating that if more than one language other than English is spoken, they should write the one that is spoken most often.

  • Data are based on place of usual residence (that is, the place where a person usually lives). It may or may not be the place the person was counted on Census night.

Households

First Nations households


Measure


Number of First Nations households.


Data period


Census night (10 August) 2021


Data source


Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing (Census) (ABS 2022b).


Region types



  • Main structures: Australia, states and territories, Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3), Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2).

  • Indigenous structures: Indigenous Regions (IREG), Indigenous Areas (IARE), Indigenous Locations (ILOC).

  • Non-ABS structures: Local Government Areas (LGA).


Suppression


Data have been suppressed if the denominator for the percentage was less than 100, due to concerns about the reliability of percentages based on small denominators.


Notes


Data are based on place of usual residence (that is, the place where a person usually lives). It may or may not be the place the person was counted on Census night.

Measure


Average number of people per dwelling in First Nations households.


Data period


Census night (10 August) 2021


Data source


Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing (Census) (ABS 2022a).


Region types



  • Main structures: Australia, states and territories, Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3), Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2).

  • Indigenous structures: Indigenous Regions (IREG), Indigenous Areas (IARE), Indigenous Locations (ILOC).

  • Non-ABS structures: Local Government Areas (LGA).


Suppression


Data have been suppressed if the denominator for the percentage was less than 100, due to concerns about the reliability of percentages based on small denominators.


Notes


Data are based on place of usual residence (that is, the place where a person usually lives). It may or may not be the place the person was counted on Census night.

Measures



  • Number of First Nations households by specified equivalised weekly income group.

  • Proportion (%) of households in the specified equivalised weekly income group, by Indigenous household indicator.


Equivalised weekly income categories



  • $0–$299

  • $300–$499

  • $500–$799

  • $800–$1,249

  • $1,250 or more.


Available by


Indigenous household indicator: households with First Nations person(s), other households.


Data period


Census night (10 August) 2021.


Data source


Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing (Census) (ABS 2022a).


Region types



  • Main structures: Australia, states and territories, Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3), Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2).

  • Indigenous structures: Indigenous Regions (IREG), Indigenous Areas (IARE), Indigenous Locations (ILOC).

  • Non-ABS structures: Local Government Areas (LGA).


Suppression



  • Data have been suppressed if the denominator for the percentage was less than 100, due to concerns about the reliability of percentages based on small denominators.

  • Data have been suppressed if household income was not stated for >50% of the relevant population, due to relatively high exposure to potential bias.

  • Data have been flagged as interpret with caution if household income was not stated for 25% –50% of the relevant population, due to relatively high exposure to potential bias.


Notes



  • The denominator for proportions excludes respondents whose information on income was not stated, or where Indigenous household indicator was not stated.

  • Data are based on the Census variable Equivalised Total Household Income (weekly) (HIED) (see ABS 2016).

  • Equivalised household income is an indicator of the economic resources available to a ‘standardised household’ that takes into account variations in household size and composition. For a one-person household, it is equal to income received. For a household comprising more than 1 person, it is an indicator of the household income that a one-person household would require to enjoy the same level of economic wellbeing.

  • Equivalised household income is derived by calculating an equivalence factor according to the 'modified OECD' equivalence scale, and then dividing income by that factor. The equivalence factor is built up by allocating points to each person in a household (1 point to the first adult, 0.5 points to each additional person who is 15 years and over, and 0.3 to each child under the age of 15) and then summing the equivalence points of all household members (ABS 2016).

Measure


Median total weekly household income of First Nations households ($/week).


Data period


Census night (10 August) 2021.


Data source


Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing (Census) (ABS 2022a).


Region types



  • Main structures: Australia, states and territories, Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3), Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2).

  • Indigenous structures: Indigenous Regions (IREG), Indigenous Areas (IARE), Indigenous Locations (ILOC).

  • Non-ABS structures: Local Government Areas (LGA).


Suppression


NIL


Notes


Median is the midpoint of a list of observations that have been ranged from smallest to largest.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2016). Census of Population and Housing: Census Dictionary. Canberra: ABS.

ABS (2022a) Census of Population and Housing [Census DataPacks], ABS website, accessed 19 May 2023.

ABS (2022b) Census of Population and Housing [TableBuilder], ABS website, accessed 12 May 2023.

ABS (2023a) Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2021, ABS website, accessed 25 September 2023.

ABS (2023b) Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians methodology, June 2021, ABS website, accessed 6 November 2023.