The Australian Bureau of Statistics has today released the results of the Census which took place on August 10 last year.

Insights revealed include:

• There were nearly 25.5 million people in Australia, excluding overseas visitors, on Census night. This is more than 2 million more than in the 2016 census, and more than double the 1971 Census count 50 years earlier of 12.4 million people.

 

• The number of people living outside a greater city area was  8.34 million 

 

State (Outside Greater Capital City area)	Population	Median Age	Median weekly household income
Regional Qld	2,615,036	41	$1,507
Regional NSW	2,828,637	43	$1,434
Regional Vic	1,576,613	43	$1,386
Regional Tas	309,087	45	$1,225
Regional SA	390,843	47	$1,190
Regional WA	534,803	40	$1,597
Regional NT	89,103	31	$1,706

Source: ABS

• The median age of all Australians remains at 38 years in 2021. Males make up 49.3 per cent of the population with a median age of 37 years and females make up 50.7 per cent with a median age of 39 years.

 

• The proportion of Australian residents that are born overseas (first generation) or have a parent born overseas (second generation) now comprises 51.5 per cent of the population.

 

• India has moved past China and New Zealand to become the third largest country of birth behind Australia and England.

 

• Millennials (25-39 years old) have caught up to Baby Boomers (55-74 years old) as the largest generational group in Australia.

 

• 70pc of Australian dwellings are separate houses, 16pc are apartments and 13pc are townhouses.

 

• More than half a million people now live in high rise apartments (in buildings of nine or more storeys).

 

• 53 percent of Australian households have children living with them

 

• The proportion of couple families without children living with them has grown steadily from 41pc in 1996 to 47pc in 2021.

 

• There are now more than one million one-parent families, and 80 per cent of those parents were female.

 

• The proportion of households that own their home outright has dropped from 40pc in 1996 to 30pc in 2021.

 

• 3.2pc identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, an increase of over 25.2pc since 2016.

 

• Christianity remains the most common religion in Australia, with 43.9pc identifying as Christian, down from 52.1pc in 2016 and 61.1pc in 2011.

 

• More Australians are also reporting ‘no religion’, with 38.9pc in 2021, compared to 30.1pc in 2016 and 22.3pc in 2011.

 

•  Statistician Teresa Dickinon says the 2021 census indicates that the  “average” Australian is:
  • A female
  • aged 30-39 years
  • living in a coupled family with children
  • living in the greater capital city area
  • An average weekly family income of $3,000 or more.

The Census provides information about the nation, providing a picture of the economic, social and cultural make-up of Australia, and how the country is changing compared to past data.

Further data releases will continue in coming months. To view the Census data now available click here