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STATES AND TERRITORIES

At 30 June 2006, New South Wales had the largest Indigenous population of the states and territories (152,700 people), followed by Queensland (144,900), Western Australia (71,000), the Northern Territory (64,000), Victoria (33,500), South Australia (28,100), Tasmania (18,400) and the Australian Capital Territory (4,300).

The Indigenous population of Queensland is projected to be the fastest growing of the states and territories, with an average growth rate over the projection period of between 2.6% and 2.7% per year, followed by Victoria (between 2.4% and 2.5%), the Australian Capital Territory (2.4%) and Tasmania (between 2.3% and 2.4%). The Northern Territory is projected to have the lowest growth rate over the fifteen year period, of between 1.6% and 1.7% per year.

In both Series A and B, Queensland is projected to overtake New South Wales in 2016 as the state or territory with the largest Indigenous population. Queensland's share of Australia's Indigenous population is projected to increase from 28.0% in 2006 to 29.8% in 2021, while New South Wales is projected to decrease marginally, from 29.5% to 29.2%. The distribution amongst the remaining states and territories is projected to remain largely unchanged.

Estimated and Projected Indigenous Population, States and territories - 1991-2021
	1991	2006	2021 (Series A)		2021 (Series B)
	no.	no.	no.	Growth rate (%)(a)	no.	Growth rate (%)(a)
NSW	101 493	152 685	208 341	2.1	210 582	2.2
Vic.	22 625	33 517	47 721	2.4	48 233	2.5
Qld	95 671	144 885	212 908	2.6	215 082	2.7
SA	19 775	28 055	37 987	2.0	38 413	2.1
WA	49 632	70 966	92 587	1.8	93 612	1.9
Tas.	12 462	18 415	26 063	2.3	26 353	2.4
NT	46 431	64 005	81 298	1.6	82 339	1.7
ACT	2 727	4 282	6 101	2.4	6 148	2.4
Aust.(b)	350 985	517 043	713 306	2.2	721 064	2.2
(a) Average annual growth rate for the period 2006 to 2021.
(b) Includes Other Territories.