The Indigenous population

Introduction

This chapter outlines the basic demographic features and trends in Australia's Indigenous population (Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders). Despite incomplete statistics on the Indigenous population the available evidence suggests that Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience poor health in comparison to the non-Indigenous population. Available demographics (statistics) allow us to explain these poor health outcomes and trends.

Population decline

The Indigenous population of Australia at the time of British arrival on the Australian continent (1788) is estimated to have been at least 750 000. A vast reduction in the Indigenous population occurred with the arrival of the British. The Indigenous population reduced to under 200 000 from 1788 to 1861, then down to 62 000 in 1921 (these figures are a guide only because Indigenous peoples were not counted in the official population Census until the 1970s). Such a drastic reduction in population was due in large part to the arrival of introduced diseases. The British colonisers brought diseases which the Indigenous peoples had no natural resistance against. Another factor causing the Indigenous population decline was genocide (murder or mass killing) at the hands of the British and Europeans. Fortunately, the present Indigenous population has increased to an estimated figure of 458 520 (90 per cent of this figure includes persons claiming to be of 'Aboriginal origin'). The Indigenous population is increasing at a rate of over 6 per cent, but comprises only 2.4 per cent of the total Australian population.

Demographic features and trends

Demographic statistics allow the description of trends in the Indigenous population. A large proportion of Indigenous people are under the age of 20 (around 50 per cent), compared with the non-Indigenous population. Lower numbers of Indigenous people are aged over 40 years (6 per cent of Indigenous people are aged over 54). Together, these trends indicate a high fertility (birth) rate and high mortality (death) rate in the Indigenous population. The Indigenous fertility rate is 2.1 babies per woman. Indigenous people have a low average life expectancy: 56 years for males and 63 years for females, which is around 15 to 20 years lower than the non-Indigenous population. In 2001, the median (middle) age of the Indigenous population was 20.5 years (The median age of the non-Indigenous population is 35).

Settlement of Indigenous peoples

74 per cent of Indigenous peoples live in urban areas (cities) and 26 per cent live in rural and remote areas (Only 2 per cent of the non-Indigenous population live in remote areas). There are around 1139 remote Indigenous communities. There is a tendency for Indigenous peoples to internally migrate to rural areas at present. More than half the Indigenous population live in NSW (estimate of 135 000 or 29 per cent) and Queensland (27 per cent). The Northern Territory has 29 per cent of its population Indigenous, representing the highest proportion of Indigenous people within a State or Territory.

Social disadvantage

The Indigenous population displays greater levels of social and economic disadvantage than the non-Indigenous population. This is measured across a number of areas. Indigenous people receive lower levels of average weekly household income. In 2001, Indigenous households received $364 a week compared with $585 a week in non-Indigenous households. Indigenous Australians experience high unemployment. In 2001, 22 per cent of Indigenous males were unemployed (compared with 8% of males in the non-Indigenous population) and 18 per cent of Indigenous females were unemployed (compared with 7 per cent of non-Indigenous females). Lower rates of home ownership are reported with 32 per cent of Indigenous people owning their own home, compared with 69 per cent of the non-Indigenous population.

See animation 1

Poor health outcomes are a significant trend in the Indigenous population. This is measured by factors such as lower access to health services, increased likelihood of hospitalisation and increased chances of physical disability (from ill health) and mental illness. Indigenous Australians are more likely to die at a younger age than non-Indigenous Australians.

Poorer educational outcomes are a feature of the Indigenous population. Indigenous young people are less likely to complete Year 10 or equivalent. In 2001, 32 per cent of Indigenous people had not finished Year 10 or equivalent, compared with 18 per cent of the non-Indigenous population.

See image 3

Of Indigenous persons aged 15 or over no longer at school, 18 per cent have a non-school qualification compared with 40 per cent in the non-Indigenous population. Non-school qualifications such as university degrees and apprenticeships, lead to improved chances of employment.