People and communities

Population size

An estimated 798,365 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were living in Australia in 2016. This was 3.3% of the total Australian population.

Among the Indigenous population in 2016:

• 91% identified as being of Aboriginal origin (727,485 people)
• 5% identified as being of Torres Strait Islander origin (38,660)
• 4% were of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin (32,220) (Figure PC 1).

 Among Indigenous Australians in 2016:

• 12% of males and 11% of females were in the 0–4 age group.
• 0.2% of males and 0.3% of females were in the 85 and over age group (Figure PC 2).