Australia

2001 Census All persons QuickStats
Geography type Australia
Area code 0
People 18,769,249
Male 9,270,466
Female 9,498,783
Australian citizenship 16,559,774
People born overseas 4,105,444
Overseas visitors (excluded from people counts) 203,101
Families 4,936,828
All private dwellings (including unoccupied) 7,790,079

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People

demographics & education | cultural & language diversity | employment

Demographics & education

People Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Total 18,769,249 -- 17,752,829 --
Male 9,270,466 49.4 8,783,426 49.5
Female 9,498,783 50.6 8,969,403 50.5
 null  null  null  null  null
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 410,003 2.2 352,970 2.0

In the 2001 Census (held on 7th August 2001), there were 18,769,249 million people in Australia. The population has increased by 5.7%, or just over 1 million people since the 1996 Census. As in 1996, female slightly outnumbered male in the population.

2.2% of the population identified themselves as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the 2001 Census which is an increase of 16.2% or 57,033 people.

Age
People
Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
0-4 years 1,243,969 6.6 1,264,906 7.1
5-14 years 2,668,506 14.2 2,573,026 14.5
15-24 years 2,566,346 13.7 2,572,145 14.5
25-54 years 8,159,808 43.5 7,708,042 43.4
55-64 years 1,759,742 9.4 1,483,815 8.4
65 years and over 2,370,878 12.6 2,150,895 12.1

Australia's population continued to age as a result of low fertility and increased life expectancy. The proportion of people aged 65 years and over increased to 12.6% (2,370,878 people) in 2001 from 12.1% in 1996. The proportion of people aged 0-14 years decreased to 20.8% (3,912,475 people) in 2001 from 21.6% in 1996.

Selected characteristics Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Australian citizenship 16,559,774 88.2 15,886,961 89.5
People born overseas 4,105,444 21.9 3,907,993 22.0
Overseas visitors (excluded from people counts) 203,101 1.1 139,594 0.8

672,813 more Australian citizens were counted in the 2001 Census than in 1996. However, the proportion of the population who were Australian citizens decreased from 89.5% in 1996 to 88.2% in 2001.

The 1996 Census counted 3,907,993 people in Australia whose place of birth was overseas. In the 2001 Census this increased by 197,451 people to 4,105,444. However, the proportion of the population who were born overseas decreased from 22.0% in 1996 to 21.9% in 2001.

The number of people in Australia classified as overseas visitors in the Census increased by 45.5% between 1996 and 2001. In part the increase was due to a change in the definition of 'Overseas visitor'. In the 1996 Census, overseas visitors were those people who stated they would be in Australia for less than 6 months. In the 2001 Census, overseas visitors were defined as those visitors who stated they would be in Australia for less than 12 months.

Registered marital status
People aged 15 years and over
Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Married 7,635,947 51.4 7,415,104 53.3
Separated or divorced 1,609,314 10.8 1,363,043 9.8
Widowed 919,904 6.2 892,199 6.4
Never married 4,691,609 31.6 4,244,551 30.5

In the 2001 Census, 51.4% of the Australian population stated they were married. This is a lower proportion than in the 1996 Census when 53.3% of the population stated they were married. The proportion of the population who stated they were separated or divorced increased from 9.8% in 1996 to 10.8% in the 2001 Census.

Cultural & language diversity

Country of birth Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Australia 13,629,481 72.6 13,227,776 74.5
Other top responses:  null  null  null  null
England 847,365 4.5 872,062 4.9
New Zealand 355,765 1.9 291,388 1.6
Italy 218,718 1.2 238,246 1.3
Viet Nam 154,831 0.8 151,055 0.9
China (excl. SARs and Taiwan Province) 142,780 0.8 111,009 0.6

The proportion of the population which was born in Australia decreased from 74.5% in the 1996 Census to 72.6% in 2001, although the number of Australian-born people increased by 3.0% (401,705 people) for the same period.

Religious affiliation, top responses Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Catholic 5,001,624 26.6 4,798,950 27.0
Anglican 3,881,162 20.7 3,903,324 22.0
No Religion 2,905,993 15.5 2,948,888 16.6
Uniting Church 1,248,674 6.7 1,334,917 7.5
Presbyterian & Reformed 637,530 3.4 675,534 3.8

In the 2001 Census, nearly half (47.3%) of the Australian population stated their religion as either Catholic or Anglican. A further 15.5% stated they had no religion.

Language, top responses (other than English) Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Italian 353,605 1.9 375,754 2.1
Greek 263,717 1.4 269,775 1.5
Cantonese 225,307 1.2 202,494 1.1
Arabic (incl. Lebanese) 209,372 1.1 177,606 1.0
Vietnamese 174,236 0.9 146,267 0.8
 null  null  null  null  null
English only spoken at home 15,013,965 80.0 14,564,924 82.0

In the 2001 Census for Australia, of those people who spoke a language other than English at home, the Italian language was the most common response. English was the only language spoken at home by 80.0% of the population, a decrease from 82.0% in 1996.

Employment

Employment
People aged 15 years and over
Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Worked full-time 5,360,693 59.8 5,180,227 61.6
Worked part-time 2,689,709 30.0 2,286,662 27.2
Hours worked not stated 248,204 2.8 169,430 2.0
Unemployed 660,709 7.4 771,970 9.2
Not in the labour force 5,265,426 -- 5,174,181 --
Total in labour force (includes employed and unemployed people) 8,959,315 -- 8,408,289 --
View the labour force fact sheet

The proportion of the Australian labour force which was employed at the time of the 2001 Census was 92.6%, an increase from 90.8% in the 1996 Census.

In 2001, there was a fall in the proportion of full-time workers who represented 59.8% of the labour force, down from 61.6% in 1996. The proportion of the labour force in part-time employment increased from 27.2% in 1996 to 30.0% in 2001.

The proportion of the labour force which was unemployed decreased from 9.2% in 1996 to 7.4% in 2001.

Occupation
Employed people aged 15 years and over
Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Professionals 1,514,096 10.2 1,309,468 9.4
Intermediate Clerical, Sales and Service Workers 1,366,701 9.2 1,222,735 8.8
Tradespersons and Related Workers 1,018,903 6.9 997,010 7.2
Associate Professionals 975,653 6.6 861,169 6.2
Elementary Clerical, Sales and Service Workers 792,378 5.3 677,395 4.9
Managers and Administrators 764,823 5.1 709,925 5.1
Labourers and Related Workers 717,457 4.8 667,250 4.8
Intermediate Production and Transport Workers 670,821 4.5 661,425 4.8
Advanced Clerical and Service Workers 309,968 2.1 329,844 2.4

The largest occupation group for Australia, reported in both the 1996 and 2001 Censuses, was Professionals. This group had the second largest increase (15.6%) in numbers between the Censuses behind Elementary Clerical, Sales and Service Workers (17.0%).

Industry of employment, top responses
Employed people aged 15 years and over
Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Business Services 795,439 5.4 644,576 4.6
Education 595,398 4.0 540,063 3.9
Health Services 570,442 3.8 546,228 3.9
Personal and Household Good Retailing 517,816 3.5 425,762 3.1
Food Retailing 443,890 3.0 374,888 2.7

The largest industry group for Australia, reported in both the 1996 and 2001 Censuses, was Business Services. The number of people employed in Business Services increased between the Censuses by 150,863 or 23.4%.

Families

family type

Family composition

Family type Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Couple family without children 1,764,167 35.7 1,589,882 34.1
Couple family with children 2,321,165 47.0 2,308,942 49.6
One parent family 762,632 15.4 672,868 14.5
Other family 88,864 1.8 84,227 1.8
Total families 4,936,828 -- 4,655,919 --

The 2001 Census counted nearly 5 million families in Australia, an increase of 6.0% since 1996. In 2001, almost half (47.0%) of all families were couples with children, down from 49.6% in 1996. There were corresponding increases in the proportion of couple families without children (35.7%), up from 34.1% in 1996 and one parent families (15.4%), up from 14.5% in 1996.

Dwellings

dwelling structure | household type

Dwelling structure

Dwellings include visitor only and other not-classifiable households unless otherwise stated

Dwelling type Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Occupied private dwellings 7,072,202 90.8 6,496,072 90.5
All private dwellings (including unoccupied) 7,790,079 -- 7,175,237 --

7,790,079 dwellings were counted in Australia in the 2001 Census, an increase of 8.6% since 1996.

Dwelling structure
Occupied private dwellings
Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Separate house 5,327,309 75.3 4,911,909 75.6
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc 632,176 8.9 517,181 8.0
Flat, unit or apartment 923,139 13.1 816,704 12.6
Other dwelling 134,274 1.9 134,024 2.1
Dwelling type not stated 55,304 0.8 116,254 1.8

There was an increase of 22.2% (114,995 dwellings) in the number of Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc. The category Flat, unit or apartment increased by 13.0% (106,435 dwellings) and the number of separate houses increased by 8.5% (415,400 dwellings).

Tenure
Occupied private dwellings
Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Owned outright 2,810,917 39.7 2,657,971 40.9
Being purchased (includes being purchased under rent/buy scheme) 1,872,132 26.5 1,656,062 25.5
Rented (includes rent-free) 1,858,324 26.3 1,773,508 27.3
Other tenure type 196,026 2.8 160,273 2.5
Tenure type not stated 334,803 4.7 248,258 3.8

Dwellings which were fully owned or being purchased accounted for 66.2% of the 7,072,202 occupied private dwellings in Australia at the 2001 Census. Occupied private dwellings being rented accounted for 26.3% of occupied private dwellings.

Landlord type
Occupied private dwellings being rented (including rent-free accommodation)
Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Real estate agent 813,633 43.8 744,539 42.0
State or Territory housing authority 317,171 17.1 329,249 18.6
Other landlord type 705,122 37.9 686,752 38.7
Landlord type not stated 22,398 1.2 12,968 0.7

The number of occupied private dwellings in Australia being rented increased by 4.8% (84,816 dwellings) between the 1996 Census and the 2001 Census. In this period the proportion of dwellings rented from real estate agents increased from 42.0% to 43.8%. There were decreases in the proportions rented by the state or territory housing authorities and for the category other landlord type.

Household type

Household type
Excludes visitor only and other not classifiable households
Australia % Australia 1996 % 1996
Family households 4,866,031 68.8 4,582,999 70.6
Single (or lone) person households 1,616,213 22.9 1,432,816 22.1
Group households 262,551 3.7 266,002 4.1

Of the 7,072,202 households counted in Australia in 2001, 68.8% (4,866,031 households) were family households, a decrease from 70.6% in 1996. The proportion of lone person households increased to 22.9% (1,616,213 households), up from 22.1% in 1996. The proportion of group households fell to 3.7% (262,551 households) in 2001, down from 4.1% in 1996.

Data for this QuickStat has been sourced from the 2001 Basic Community Profile catalogue No. 2001.0 and the 2001 Indigenous Profile catalogue No. 2002.0. Indigenous Statistics are only available for selected geographic areas. The information contained in this QuickStat has been produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It contains data from the 2001 Census of Population & Housing held on 7 August 2001. Some values may have been adjusted to avoid release of confidential data. These adjustments may have a significant impact on the calculated percentages in QuickStats. For more information refer to Introduced Random Error. For further enquiries contact the ABS National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 | www.abs.gov.au/census

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