60,672 ▲ +0.1%
Higher than 58% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 60,603
- 2016: 67,357
- 2021: 60,672
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.
A much higher proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live in Very Remote Australia than in most other areas. This region is noticeably younger than the rest of the country, with a typical resident aged 35 and nearly 30% of the population identifying as Indigenous.
60,672
▲ +0.1%
- 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 — higher than 58% of areas.
| Very Remote Australia | 60,672 |
|---|---|
| Australia | 25,422,788 |
Population
How many people, and the typical age.
The population has stayed steady at 60,672 people since 2011. Residents here are noticeably younger than the national figure, though the typical age has risen by two years over the last decade.
35 yrs ▲ +6.1%
Younger than 93% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 33 yrs
- 2016: 34 yrs
- 2021: 35 yrs
Half the population is older than this age, and half younger.
Age profile
How the population splits across age groups.
Children under 15 make up 19.6% of the population, which is a little above the national figure. In contrast, the proportion of seniors aged 65 and over is 8.4%, which is well below the 17.2% seen across Australia.
8.4% ▲ +83.2%
Lower than 87% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 4.6%
- 2016: 6.5%
- 2021: 8.4%
Share of the population aged 65 years and over.
19.6% ▲ +2.2%
Higher than 81% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 19.2%
- 2016: 18.7%
- 2021: 19.6%
Share of the population aged under 15 years.
Age structure
View on map →In Very Remote Australia, the largest group is Young adults (25–44) at 35%, followed by Older adults (45–64) (26%) and Children (0–14) (20%).
Identity & relationships
First Nations identity and marital status.
About 29.1% of people identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, a figure far above the national average of 3.2%. People in de facto relationships also make up 20% of the population, which is well above the national figure of 11.5%.
29.1% ▲ +5.1%
Higher than 86% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 27.7%
- 2016: 28.6%
- 2021: 29.1%
Share of people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
20.0% ▲ +5.5%
Higher than 99% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 19.0%
- 2016: 20.4%
- 2021: 20.0%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in a de facto marriage (registered marriages excluded).
Marital status
View on map →In Very Remote Australia, the largest group is Never married at 49%, followed by Married (37%) and Divorced (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/RA54/very-remote-australia/topic/demographics-identity