The big surprises in 2021 Census explained
The results of the 2021 census have been released, and they reveal a 25 per cent increase in the number of people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
The census found 812,728 people — 3.2 per cent of the population — identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
There’s also a growing number of older people identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, with 47,677 people aged 65 or over in the 2021 census. that’s a jump from 31,000 in 2016 and 21, 000 in 2011.
The number one most common chronic ailment is, for the first time, mental illness.
ANU Centre for Social Research & Methods Professor Nick Biddle said the Census allowed detailed information on where people with mental health conditions live.
“Having a mental health illness can be debilitating, but even more so if you combine that with additional long-term conditions,” he told Mark Gibson, filling in for Gareth Parker on 6PR Breakfast.
Press PLAY below to hear what Mr Biddle found most surprising about the census results