42,054 ▼ -9.6%
Higher than 54% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 46,532
- 2016: 44,819
- 2021: 42,054
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.
Far fewer seniors live here than in most other areas, making Very Remote Australia a remarkably young region. Roughly 72.5% of the 42,054 residents identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, while the typical person is just 29 years old.
42,054
▼ -9.6%
- 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 54% of areas.
| Very Remote Australia | 42,054 |
|---|---|
| Australia | 25,422,788 |
Population
How many people, and the typical age.
The population has shrank by 9.6% since 2011, losing about 4,478 people. Despite this drop, the typical resident is far younger than the national figure of 38, though they have aged by 3 years since 2011.
29 yrs ▲ +11.5%
Younger than 99% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 26 yrs
- 2016: 27 yrs
- 2021: 29 yrs
Half the population is older than this age, and half younger.
Age profile
How the population splits across age groups.
A high proportion of children under 15 live here, at 24.6%, which is well above the national figure of 18.2%. This helps explain why seniors make up only 5.1% of the population, a figure far below the 17.2% seen across Australia.
5.1% ▲ +40.8%
Lower than 93% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 3.6%
- 2016: 4.2%
- 2021: 5.1%
Share of the population aged 65 years and over.
24.6% ▼ -18.0%
Higher than 99% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 29.9%
- 2016: 27.5%
- 2021: 24.6%
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 33%, followed by Children (0–14) (25%) and Older adults (45–64) (20%).
Identity & relationships
First Nations identity and marital status.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 72.5% of the population, which is far above the national figure of 3.2%. When it comes to relationships, those in de facto partnerships make up 10.2% of the area, which is much lower than most other areas.
72.5% ▼ -1.1%
Higher than 99% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 73.3%
- 2016: 74.8%
- 2021: 72.5%
Share of people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
10.2% ▲ +9.8%
Lower than 91% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 9.3%
- 2016: 11.5%
- 2021: 10.2%
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 (44%) and Never married (44%), with Widowed at 4%.
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/RA74/very-remote-australia/topic/demographics-identity