The Australian Bureau of Statistics has explained how the Indigenous population jumped 25% in the most recent national census.
The ABS analysis shows the number of people identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians jumped to 812,728 in the 2021 census from 649,171 people in 2016 and 548,368 in 2011. More than three-quarters of the increase (76.2%) was attributed to Indigenous people younger than 19.
The ABS noted two reasons for discrepancies in the census numbers. The first relates to the methodology used to calculate births, deaths and migration numbers.
“The methodology for measuring demographic change has been updated … to use census counts of children aged under five years instead of registered births,” the ABS release noted.
“While registered births are demographic in nature, including them in the measurement of change masks some of the non-demographic change that occurs between censuses. Using census counts of children aged under five years brings more consistency in data sources used in the calculation of demographic change.”
The other significant change is the number of people who choose to identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
An earlier analysis of previous census data collection periods explained the issue of identification.
“That analysis found that a person’s identification as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander can change at various points throughout their life (also referred to as life course identification),” the ABS said.
“These changes can be in response to shifting social or personal circumstances or as people make decisions about their lives and how they choose to identify in various contexts as they transition through childhood, adolescence and adulthood.”
The ABS analysis coincides with discussions around constitutional amendments for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament and campaigns run by pro-Voice and anti-Voice advocates.
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