Population characteristics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2006

• Australian Bureau of Statistics
• Australian Bureau of Statistics

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22 April 2008There have been improvements across many areas for Indigenous people, including a fall in unemployment, according to an analysis of 2006 Census data by the ABS. However, there is much catching up still to occur, when compared with the non-Indigenous population.This report presents information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians based on information from the 2006 Census. A range of information available from the Census is covered in a general overview of the characteristics of Indigenous Australians. Topics covered include: the demographic and geographic distribution of the population and its growth in recent years; living arrangements; language, religion and disability; education and IT use; work; income; and housing and transport. Also includes information on how to interpret census data on Indigenous peoples.

Some of the key findings are:

Between 2001 and 2006, the Indigenous unemployment rate has fallen from 20% to 16%. Combined with this, there have been increases in labour force participation and qualifications. More Indigenous people aged 15 years and over were in the labour force, with the participation rate increasing from 52% in 2001 to 55% in 2006.

The proportion of Indigenous people aged 15 years and over achieving qualifications is up from 20% in 2001 to 25% in 2006.

Despite these gains, unemployment for Indigenous Australians is more than three times the non-Indigenous unemployment rate (5%). Employment and education rates for non-Indigenous people are still substantially higher.

The report includes national level analyses of the population structure and distribution, mobility, household composition, language, education, work, income and housing characteristics of Indigenous Australians.

Other findings include:

o The estimated resident Indigenous population was 517,174, or 2.5% of the total population (up from 2.4% in 2001) at 30 June 2006;
o The median age for Indigenous people was 21, compared with 37 for non-Indigenous people;
o Between 2001 and 2006, an overall pattern of migration away from more remote areas was observed for Indigenous Australians;
o More Indigenous households were buying their own home in 2006 (24% compared with 20% in 2001), and less were renting (63% compared with 66% in 2001);
o More than half (56%) of Indigenous Australians living in very remote areas spoke an Indigenous language at home, compared with 1% in major cities.