Census 2016

Census 2016, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) five-yearly study of Australia’s population and demographics, released the first of two main datasets on Tuesday. The data shows we’re a changing nation.

We’re growing

• The Australian population is now 23.4 million, which represents an 8.8% increase and approximately 1,037 extra people every day since the 2011 Census

We’re aging

• Our median age is 38, up from 27 in 2011
• Women are living longer than men; of people aged 85 and older, 63% are women and 37% are men

We’re increasingly diverse

• People born overseas increased to 26% of the population in 2016, up from 25% in 2011, representing an increase of almost 1 million people
• People born overseas, or who had at least one parent born overseas, make up almost half (49%) of our population
• Australians were born in close to 200 different countries, with the top five countries of birth being Australia (66.7%), England (3.9%), New Zealand (2.2%), China (2.2%) and India (1.9%)
• The number of same sex couples recorded increased by 42.4% from 33,000 in 2011 to 47,000 in 2016
• Australia’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander population grew by 18% since 2011 to 649,171 with 150 different languages

The second main dataset will be released in October detailing employment, qualifications and population mobility. At this time Culture Counts will provide detailed analysis of the cultural and creative sectors including demographic make-up, income and areas of employment. Stay tuned. 

We are fans of great data visualisation and love this representation of Australia as 100 people by Catherine Hanrahan and Simon Elvery for its compelling insights into the changing state of our nation.