Remoteness Area · Area profile
Remote Australia
122,335 km²
A typical household income of $1,307 per week is well below the national figure, reflecting the unique economic profile of Remote Australia. This sparsely populated region is noticeably older than the rest of the country, with a typical resident aged 44. It is a place where separate houses dominate the landscape and a high proportion of people own their homes outright. While the population has shrank slightly since 2011, the community is marked by a very high rate of volunteering.
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The area is noticeably older than the national figure, with the typical resident aged 44 and 22% of people aged 65 or over. While children under 15 make up 18.2% of the population, the number of seniors has risen by 6.1 percentage points since 2011.
Most residents were born in Australia (82.2%), and the proportion of people born overseas is far below the national figure. Australian and English are the most common ancestries, accounting for 42.4% and 41.7% respectively.
English is the primary language for 88.2% of the population. The proportion of people using another language at home is far below the national figure, and very few people—just 0.3%—speak little or no English.
Nearly half of residents (48.6%) report having no religion, which is well above the national figure. This represents a significant shift, as the number of people with no religion rose by 20 percentage points since 2011.
Education levels are lower than in most areas, with only 11.9% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. However, Year 12 completion rose by 6.8 percentage points since 2011 to reach 41.0%.
Typical weekly household income is $1,307, which is well below the national figure of $1,746. While the number of households earning $3,000 or more per week is lower than most areas, this figure has risen by 7.2 percentage points since 2011.
A little more than the national figure (29.2%) of residents have a long-term health condition, with arthritis being the most common. About 5.3% of people need help with daily activities, which is around the middle for similar areas.
Volunteering is very common here, with 26.2% of people helping out, a figure far above the national average. Unpaid housework is also more frequent than in most areas, with 24.6% of people doing 15 hours or more per week.
First Nations people make up a small part of the population, with a typical age of 23. While the unemployment rate of 14.2% is a little above the national figure, 34.4% have completed Year 12.
Living alone is much more common here than in most areas, with 31.4% of people in one-person households. This contributes to a typical home size of 2.3 people, which is a little below the national figure.
Separate houses are far more common than the national average, making up 90.1% of all homes. Renting is less common, and typical weekly rent at $220 is far below the national figure of $375.
Car travel is the primary way to get around, as only 0.8% of people commute by public transport. Most homes have multiple vehicles, with 39.1% owning two and 15.2% owning three.
The population is relatively stable, as the proportion of people who moved in the last five years is well below the national figure. Recent arrivals from overseas also fell by 4.6 percentage points since 2011.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing is the largest industry, employing 19.6% of the workforce. The unemployment rate is 3.5%, which is a little below the national figure.
The area is mostly car-dependent with a low walkability score of 2.8. While nearly 60% of homes are within a 15-minute walk of a park, only 22.2% are near health services.