13,768 ▼ -3.1%
Lower than 56% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 14,205
- 2016: 13,278
- 2021: 13,768
The number of people who usually live in the area, counted on Census night.
Very Remote Australia · Remoteness Area
Demographics & Identity in Very Remote Australia
Who lives here — how many people, how old they are, and how communities identify.
Nearly 29% of people in Very Remote Australia identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, which is far above the national figure. This sparsely populated region has seen its population shrink by 3.1% since 2011, leaving a total of 13,768 residents.
13,768
▼ -3.1%
- 1–2: 3 areas
- 2–3: 0 areas
- 3–5: 0 areas
- 5–9: 0 areas
- 9–16: 2 areas
- 16–28: 1 area
- 28–50: 1 area
- 50–87: 0 areas
- 87–152: 1 area
- 152–265: 1 area
- 265–463: 1 area
- 463–808: 3 areas
- 808–1,412: 1 area
- 1,412–2,466: 0 areas
- 2,466–4,308: 4 areas
- 4,308–7,525: 2 areas
- 7,525–13,147: 4 areas
- 13,147–22,967: 2 areas
- 22,967–40,122: 1 area
- 40,122–70,092: 5 areas
- 70,092–122,448: 2 areas
- 122,448–213,911: 5 areas
- 213,911–373,695: 3 areas
- 373,695–652,831: 2 areas
- 652,831–1,140,471: 2 areas
- 1,140,471–1,992,358: 3 areas
- 1,992,358–3,480,573: 2 areas
- 3,480,573–6,080,428: 2 areas
All remoteness area areas, 2021. The marker is Very Remote Australia — lower than 56% of areas.
| Very Remote Australia | 13,768 |
|---|---|
| Australia | 25,422,788 |
Population
How many people, and the typical age.
The typical resident is 40 years old, which is a little older than the national figure and 4 years older than in 2011.
40 yrs ▲ +11.1%
Younger than 57% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 36 yrs
- 2016: 39 yrs
- 2021: 40 yrs
Half the population is older than this age, and half younger.
Age profile
How the population splits across age groups.
Seniors aged 65 and over now make up 17.5% of the population, a rise of 6.7 percentage points since 2011. Children under 15 account for 18.6%, a figure that is higher than most areas.
17.5% ▲ +61.6%
Higher than 57% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 10.8%
- 2016: 13.9%
- 2021: 17.5%
Share of the population aged 65 years and over.
18.6% ▼ -10.9%
Higher than 71% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 20.9%
- 2016: 19.3%
- 2021: 18.6%
Share of the population aged under 15 years.
Age structure
View on map →Very Remote Australia splits fairly evenly between Older adults (45–64) (27%) and Young adults (25–44) (26%), with Children (0–14) at 19%.
Identity & relationships
First Nations identity and marital status.
De facto relationships are much more common here than in most areas, at 16.3%. This is well above the 11.5% seen across Australia.
29.0% ▼ -0.1%
Higher than 86% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 29.0%
- 2016: 27.9%
- 2021: 29.0%
Share of people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
16.3% ▲ +2.1%
Higher than 83% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 16.0%
- 2016: 16.7%
- 2021: 16.3%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in a de facto marriage (registered marriages excluded).
Marital status
View on map →Very Remote Australia splits fairly evenly between Married (43%) and Never married (39%), with Divorced at 8%.
Age & sex structure
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Very Remote Australia
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Demographics & Identity in Very Remote Australia [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ra/RA44/very-remote-australia/topic/demographics-identity