47,048 ▲ +9.8%
Higher than 56% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 42,843
- 2016: 44,625
- 2021: 47,048
The number of people who usually live in the area, counted on Census night.
Remote Australia · Remoteness Area
Demographics & Identity in Remote Australia
Who lives here — how many people, how old they are, and how communities identify.
A far higher proportion of people identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in Remote Australia compared to the rest of the country, reaching 31.4%. This region is notably younger than the national average, with a population that grew by 9.8% to reach 47,048 people by 2021.
47,048
▲ +9.8%
- 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 Remote Australia — higher than 56% of areas.
| Remote Australia | 47,048 |
|---|---|
| Australia | 25,422,788 |
Population
How many people, and the typical age.
The typical resident is 34, which is noticeably younger than the national figure of 38. This is among the lowest typical ages for areas at this level.
34 yrs ▲ +3.0%
Younger than 99% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 33 yrs
- 2016: 34 yrs
- 2021: 34 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 20.9% of the population, a little above the national figure. This helps explain why the area is so young, especially as the proportion of seniors is well below the national average at 9.5%.
9.5% ▲ +61.4%
Lower than 84% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 5.9%
- 2016: 8.3%
- 2021: 9.5%
Share of the population aged 65 years and over.
20.9% ▼ -7.7%
Higher than 90% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 22.6%
- 2016: 21.1%
- 2021: 20.9%
Share of the population aged under 15 years.
Age structure
View on map →In Remote Australia, the largest group is Young adults (25–44) at 33%, followed by Older adults (45–64) (25%) and Children (0–14) (21%).
Identity & relationships
First Nations identity and marital status.
Indigenous identity is far above the national average, rising 4.7 percentage points since 2011. Relationships also differ from the norm, with those in de facto partnerships being well above the national figure at 17.4%.
31.4% ▲ +17.8%
Higher than 87% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 26.7%
- 2016: 27.0%
- 2021: 31.4%
Share of people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
17.4% ▲ +3.3%
Higher than 89% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 16.8%
- 2016: 16.6%
- 2021: 17.4%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in a de facto marriage (registered marriages excluded).
Marital status
View on map →In Remote Australia, the largest group is Never married at 47%, followed by Married (38%) and Divorced (7%).
Age & sex structure
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Remote Australia
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Demographics & Identity in Remote Australia [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ra/RA73/remote-australia/topic/demographics-identity