Description
- Estimated Resident Population (ERP) of First Nations people.
- ERP of First Nations people as a proportion of the total ERP.
Data period
30 June 2021
Data source
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) ERP (2021 Census based) (ABS 2023a) for the following region types: Local Government Areas (LGA), Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2), Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3), States and Territories, Australia, Indigenous Regions (IREG).
Region types reported
- Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Main Structure regions: LGA, SA2, SA3, States and Territories, Australia
- ASGS 2021 Indigenous structure regions: IREG
Suppression rule
Data for percentages 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
- The denominator for the percentage is total number of Australians.
- Population estimates for LGA, SA2, SA3, IREG, States and Territories and Australia are sourced from an ABS publication (ABS 2023a). These are Estimated Resident Population (ERP) data based on results of the 2021 and 2016 Census of Population and Housing, with adjustments for net undercount as measured by the Post Enumeration Survey (PES).
- The (ERP) is the official measure of the population of Australia, and is based on the concept of usual residence. It refers to all people, regardless of nationality, citizenship or legal status, who usually live in Australia, with the exception of foreign diplomatic personnel and their families. The ERP includes usual residents who are overseas for less than 12 months and excludes overseas visitors who are in Australia for less than 12 months (ABS 2016).
- The total estimated resident First Nations population in Australia at 30 June 2021 was 983,300—comprising 812,500 people counted on Census night, plus 170,800 measured as net undercount (see ABS 2023b for details).
- The extent of undercoverage of First Nations people in the 2021 Census, together with the relatively small sample size of the Post Enumeration Survey to adjust for that undercoverage, means the estimates should be interpreted with a degree of caution (ABS 2023b).
- Data have been randomly adjusted by the ABS to protect confidentiality. No reliance should be placed on small numbers.
First Nations identification
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 ERP data are based primarily on the 2021 Census of Population and Housing. A person's Indigenous status is determined by their response to the ABS Standard Indigenous Question: "Are you of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin?" for which categories are:
- No
- Yes, Aboriginal
- Yes, Torres Strait Islander
This question also allows respondents to report that they are both 'Aboriginal' and 'Torres Strait Islander' if that is how they identify.
While the Census aims to obtain a complete count of the number of people in Australia, some people are missed. In obtaining a count of the Indigenous population, an additional issue for those who were counted in the Census is that Indigenous status is sometimes not stated. In the 2021 Census, Indigenous status was not stated for 4.9% of people.
The ABS conducts a (PES) after each Census to measure Census coverage. Based on this, the ABS estimated that the net undercount in the 2021 Census was 17.4% for the Indigenous population, and 0.6% for the total population (ABS 2023b). ERP data are based on Census data that have been adjusted for undercounting.
Reference material
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2016). Census of Population and Housing: Census Dictionary. Canberra: ABS.
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.