‘Typical’ Aussie Is A 38 Y.O. Mum Who Owns A 3-Bdr House, Finds 2016 Census

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April 11, 2017

The first results from 2016’s absolute wreck of a census have arrived, revealing a truth that’s far less dramatic than how the data was collected: the average Australian sounds an awful lot like your mate’s mum.

Seriously. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the prototypical Australian is a 38 year old woman, who was born here, and has English ancestry. She sports a Year 12 education. She’s tied the knot, and lives with her partner and two kids in a mortgaged three-bedroom house.

The Census revealed a lot about the ‘typical’ Aussie. Find out more when Census data is released on 27 June https://t.co/1YfVtcoKVS pic.twitter.com/CKdyLPQf5o

— Census Australia (@ABSCensus) April 11, 2017

Some interesting things happen when you have a look at data for individual states. For example, the typical Western Australian is a 37-year-old man, and the go-to Northern Territorian is younger still at 34.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community is also slightly older than during previous censuses, except in Queensland, where the typical respondent is 22 years of age.

Patterns of migration are also a wee bit different between jurisdictions. The average migrant to Queensland is a Kiwi. In New South Wales, they’re Chinese. Down in Victoria, they’re Indian. All other states still field more English migrants than those of any other nationality. Also, the number of Aussies born overseas is increasing.

You can expect to extract more specific information from the data when the ABS releases it in full in June, but for the moment, consider how similar – or how far removed – you are from the imaginary composite Australian.

Source: Australian Bureau Of Statistics.
Photo: Kath & Kim / ABC.