Who are Indigenous Australians?
The term ‘Indigenous Australians’ refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the original people of mainland Australia and the islands of the Torres Strait north of Queensland. In 2005 the Indigenous Australian population was estimated to be 492,700 people, which comprises 2.4% of the total Australian population. The Indigenous Australian population is relatively young, with a median age of 21 years, compared to 36 years for the non-Indigenous population. In 2001, 30% of the Indigenous population lived in major cities, 43% in regional areas and 26% in remote areas. The majority of Indigenous people live in New South Wales (29% of the Indigenous population) and Queensland (27%), Western Australia (14%) and the Northern Territory (12%). In most states and territories Indigenous people comprise less than 4% of the total population but they include about 30% of the Northern Territory population. Until the early 1970s, an Aborigi
