2016 Census data have been released!

The ABS today launched the first release of 2016 Census data. This release includes updated population data for Australia, states and territories, and detailed data on a large range of characteristics including age structure, households, incomes, education, disability, unpaid work, dwelling size and structure, internet access, birthplace, language, religion and ancestry.

Headline stories from the 2016 Census data

Here are a few headline numbers which we will expand on with further information:

• Australia’s population stands at 24,385,600 at December 2016
• The Census counted 23,401,892 people in August 2016, and more than 600,000 were overseas on Census night (Census counts are always a bit lower than the official population due to people missed and people overseas).
• The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population has risen to 2.8% of the nation.
• India and China show the largest increases in overseas-born population, with 26% of the population born overseas.
• “No religion” is now Australia’s largest religion, with 30.1% expressing no religious affiliation or a secular belief such as Atheism or Agnosticism.
• More people are renting than at any time in the last 50 years, with 30.9% of dwellings being rented by their occupants.

While we are busy collating the data ready for use in our demographic tools, we will write some blogs over the next few days as a commentary on this great resource to share some of the fascinating stories it tells about Australia and the suburbs and towns within it.

Updates to community profiles and social atlas tools

We are leaping into action to deliver 2016 Census data on our profile.id and atlas.id sites for Local Government Areas across Australia faster than ever before.

We expect to be able to deliver:

• By July 11th – Some Census topics at the Local Government Area level (age, household type, birthplace, key statistics)
• By July 25th – 12 key topics at Local Government Area level, plus commencing rollout of data at small area level (for suburbs/towns/districts)
• By August 14th – All Census data from the ABS first data release (about 25 topics), with current population totals for all small areas for all our Local Government clients.
• By September 30th – Communities of Interest cross-tabulated datasets for councils who subscribe to this module.

Further ABS releases for Census are still to come.

• July 28th – Estimated Resident Population data for small areas, Local Government Areas and other levels of geography
• August 28th – Estimated Resident Population by age and sex for Local Government Areas. .id’s population forecasts will commence revision from this date.
• October 17th – 2nd release Census – all the employment, journey to work, industry, occupation, qualifications and migration within Australia datasets.
• Early 2018 – Socio-Economic Indexes for areas

We will endeavour to update all our clients about exactly what has been updated when, and will clearly mark on our sites where we have updated 2016 Census data.

.id is a team of population experts who combine online tools and consulting services to help local governments and organizations decide where and when to locate their facilities and services, to meet the needs of changing populations.

Access our free demographic resources and tools here