4725.0 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing: A focus on children and youth, Apr 2011

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/05/2012 Reissue

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Contents >> A Population Overview >> Where children and young people live

A POPULATION OVERVIEW: WHERE CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE LIVE

This article is part of a comprehensive series released as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing: A focus on children and youth.

Note: In this section 'children' refers to people aged 0–14 years. The terms 'youth' and 'young people' refer to people aged 15–24 years. Data presented are from the ABS Experimental Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2006 (cat. no. 3238.0.55.001).

KEY MESSAGES

Consistent with the distribution of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in 2006:

almost one-third of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth (32%) lived in major cities, 44% lived in regional Australia and almost one-quarter (24%) lived in remote Australia
New South Wales had the highest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth (87,400) of all the states and territories.

STATES AND TERRITORIES

In 2006, the distribution of children and young people across the states and territories was similar to the distribution of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, with the greatest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth living in New South Wales (87,400), closely followed by Queensland (83,800).

2.1 CHILDREN AND YOUTH BY STATE AND TERRITORY, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 0–24 years—2006

no.		%
NSW	87 378	29.7
Vic.	18 920	6.4
Qld.	83 843	28.5
SA	15 903	5.4
WA	39 687	13.5
Tas	10 594	3.6
NT	35 090	11.9
ACT	2 453	0.8
Australia(a)	293 971	100.0

(a) Includes other territories.
Source: ABS 2008, Experimental Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2006 (cat. no. 3238.0.55.001).

In all states and territories, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth comprised between 55% and 58% of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

AREAS OF REMOTENESS

In 2006, 32% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth lived in major cities, 44% lived in regional areas and 24% lived in remote areas of Australia.

2.2 CHILDREN AND YOUTH BY REMOTENESS, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 0–24 years—2006

Graph: Children and Young People by Remoteness ages 0–24 years

Graph: Children and Young People by Remoteness ages 0–24 years

(a) Includes inner regional and outer regional areas.
(b) Includes remote and very remote areas.
Source: ABS 2008, Experimental Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2006 (cat. no. 3238.0.55.001).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth comprised more than half of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in major cities (57%), regional areas (58%) and remote areas (54%).

INDIGENOUS REGIONS

Indigenous Regions comprise the highest level of the Australian Indigenous Geographic Classification (AIGC) and are largely based on the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) Region boundaries. There are 37 Indigenous Regions in Australia.

2.3 MAP OF INDIGENOUS REGION BOUNDARIES—2006
Map – 2006 AIGC Indigenous Region Boundaries

Source: ABS 2007, Population Distribution, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2006 (cat. no. 4705.0)

In 2006, the Indigenous Regions with the largest numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth were Brisbane (27,400), Sydney (25,900) and Coffs Harbour (25,500). The Indigenous Regions of Roma and Dubbo had the highest proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth (61% in Roma, 60% in Dubbo).