Census data reveals a fast changing nation

By Anthony Wallace on 28 June, 2017

The first results of the latest national Census this week have revealed Australia is a fast changing, ever-expanding, culturally diverse nation.

In 2016, some 10 months ago, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducted the first census in five years. Now we can start to dig into the data that defines a nation. Among many findings that have been revealed – and those yet to be discovered by those who dig deeper – Australia’s estimated resident population grew to 24.4 million people by the start of 2017.

The idea of the ‘typical’ Australian has also fundamentally shifted. Australians are now less religious, more culturally diverse, more educated and older than ever before. To get a better idea of this modern Australian, refer to ABC News’ interactive data article, “Census 2016: This is Australia as 100 people.”

Australian Statistician David W. Kalisch said the ABS was pleased to deliver this valuable dataset for Australia, emphasising it is high quality and acknowledging the participation of Australians.

“2016 Census data provides a detailed, accurate and fascinating picture of Australia and our communities,” Mr Kalisch said.

“Once again, thanks to the participation of millions of Australians in last year’s Census, the ABS has unveiled a comprehensive range of Census data that provides valuable insights into the makeup of our population and will be used to inform critical decisions that guide the future of our nation over the coming years.”

Australia’s changing geography

While Australia sits outside the top 50 countries by population, it is number six in land area (about 7.5 million km²). Both China and India have more than 50 times our population, whereas we have five times the population of New Zealand or Ireland.

The Census found that New South Wales remains Australia’s most populous state, with 7,480,228 people counted, ahead of Victoria in second (5,926,624 people) and Queensland in third (4,703,193 people).

Greater Sydney once again came in as Australia’s largest city, with 4,823,991 people, however, it may not hold that title for much longer. Greater Melbourne is closing in fast with 4,485,211 people, increasing by around 1,859 people every week since 2011. By comparison, Sydney has had around 1,656 new people calling the city home every week.

Housing affordability issues are also starting to have a direct effect on how these populations change over time and the quality of life they lead.

“Australia’s housing affordability problem is not only having an impact on the number of people renting versus buying, but is also driving up household sizes, especially in Sydney where average household size has continued to climb,” said Professor Peter Phibbs, Head of Urban and Regional Planning and Policy at Sydney University’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning.

“This means that while Sydney’s population is continuing to grow, affordability pressures mean that the number of dwellings to service this increased population is struggling to keep up, as more people are living in each dwelling.”

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Identity

The population and housing datasets also showed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples represented 2.8 per cent of the population counted in the 2016 Census – up from 2.5 per cent in 2011, and 2.3 per cent in 2006.

While the Northern Territory has Australia’s highest proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (25.5 per cent of the NT population), New South Wales is home to the highest number, with more than 216,000 people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin.

The Census also revealed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is younger than Australia’s overall population, with a median age 23 years. This is substantially younger than the median age for non-Indigenous Australians, who had a median age of 38 years.

Professor Lisa Jackson Pulver is Pro Vice-Chancellor Engagement and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership at Western Sydney University and said the figures represented a “large undercount.” Parker was a member of the Census Independant Assurance Panel that assessed the quality of the census data.

“There remains a large undercount of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and this is a concern that that ABS will need to address,” Jackson said. “One way to do this is to work more closely with communities and understand better what communities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people want from the Census.”

Want to dig deeper?

While much of the Census data on housing, population and demographics is now available from the Australia Bureau of Statistics, the advanced tools like TableBuilder and DataPacks are set for release in July 2017.

TableBuilder is an online self-help tool which enables users to create tables, graphs and maps of Census data. It is designed to allow users to produce data specific to their needs. TableBuilder data will be released 4 July 2017.

DataPacks is another service suitable for experienced Census data users who have their own database or analysis systems. They contain data for all Census geographies from Australia down to Statistical Area Level 1.

There will be a total of five DataPacks, based on Community Profiles with two additional profiles: