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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idThe largest age group in Australia was 10 to 14 year olds for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in 2021
The age structure of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia provides insights into the demand for age-based services. Typically Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations around Australia have a younger age structure than the total population, but age structures vary greatly between areas.
5-year age groups provide a consistent view of age structure across all age groups, as the cohorts are of equal size. This allows charts to show a clearer picture of what is happening with the age structure of the whole population, compared to service age groups.
To get a more complete picture, Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Age Structure should be viewed in conjunction with Household Types and Highest Level of Schooling information.
Q:
Derived from the Census question:
'What is the person's date of birth (or age last birthday)?'
| Five year age groups | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples - Australia | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Five year age group (years) | Number | % | Greater Capital Cities % | Number | % | Greater Capital Cities % | 2016 to 2021 |
| 0 to 4 | 85,940 | 10.6 | 10.8 | 73,262 | 11.3 | 11.2 | +12,678 |
| 5 to 9 | 89,144 | 11.0 | 10.8 | 75,757 | 11.7 | 11.3 | +13,387 |
| 10 to 14 | 90,476 | 11.1 | 10.9 | 71,370 | 11.0 | 10.8 | +19,106 |
| 15 to 19 | 79,500 | 9.8 | 9.8 | 66,265 | 10.2 | 10.5 | +13,235 |
| 20 to 24 | 70,545 | 8.7 | 9.4 | 57,451 | 8.9 | 9.5 | +13,094 |
| 25 to 29 | 63,447 | 7.8 | 8.5 | 47,923 | 7.4 | 7.8 | +15,524 |
| 30 to 34 | 54,517 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 40,919 | 6.3 | 6.4 | +13,598 |
| 35 to 39 | 46,942 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 35,408 | 5.5 | 5.5 | +11,534 |
| 40 to 44 | 40,974 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 36,992 | 5.7 | 5.7 | +3,982 |
| 45 to 49 | 41,575 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 36,033 | 5.6 | 5.5 | +5,542 |
| 50 to 54 | 40,207 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 31,384 | 4.8 | 4.7 | +8,823 |
| 55 to 59 | 33,744 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 25,906 | 4.0 | 3.8 | +7,838 |
| 60 to 64 | 28,011 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 19,545 | 3.0 | 2.9 | +8,466 |
| 65 to 69 | 20,262 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 13,727 | 2.1 | 2.0 | +6,535 |
| 70 to 74 | 13,534 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 8,135 | 1.3 | 1.1 | +5,399 |
| 75 to 79 | 7,328 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 4,677 | 0.7 | 0.7 | +2,651 |
| 80 to 84 | 3,952 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 2,678 | 0.4 | 0.4 | +1,274 |
| 85 and over | 2,581 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1,731 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +850 |
| Total people | 812,679 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 649,163 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +163,516 |
Dominant groups
Analysis of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander five age groups in Australia in 2021 compared to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in Greater Capital Cities shows that there was a similar proportion of people in the younger age groups (0 to 14 years) and a higher proportion of people in the older age group (65+ years).
Overall, 32.7% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in Australia was aged between 0 and 14, and 5.9% were aged 65 years and over, compared with 32.4% and 5.3% respectively for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in Greater Capital Cities.
There were no major differences in age groups between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in Australia and the Greater Capital Cities Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in 2021.
Emerging groups
From 2016 to 2021, Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population increased by 163,516 people (25.2%). This represents an average annual population change of 4.6% per year over the period.
The largest changes in age groups of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in this area between 2016 and 2021 were in the age groups:
- 10 to 14 (+19,106 people)
- 25 to 29 (+15,524 people)
- 30 to 34 (+13,598 people)
- 5 to 9 (+13,387 people)
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