There are just under 1 million Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia today, making up around 3.8% of the national population.

Current population

  • Recent national statistics estimate about 984,000 people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
  • This is roughly 3.8% of Australia’s total population, which sits around 28 million in early 2026.

Aboriginal vs “Indigenous” counts

  • “Indigenous Australians” usually means both Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples together.
  • Within that total, most identify as Aboriginal only, with smaller proportions identifying as Torres Strait Islander only or as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

Growth and trends

  • Census-based counts have risen over time: about 649,000 in 2016, 813,000 in 2021, and now close to one million when updated estimates and undercount adjustments are included.
  • Part of this increase reflects natural population growth, and part reflects more people choosing to identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in official data.

Where people live

  • Nearly two‑thirds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live in New South Wales and Queensland.
  • Many live in cities and large regional towns, not only in very remote communities, even though remote areas still have a much higher share of Aboriginal residents than the national average.

Quick Scoop (SEO-style facts)

  • Key phrase “how many aboriginals in australia”: about 984,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, around 3.8% of the population.
  • Latest news and data updates from Australian official statistics in 2024–2025 confirm that the Indigenous population has recently passed one million or is very close, depending on the specific dataset and adjustment method used.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.