Compared to five years ago, Australia looks vastly different.
It's bigger and more diverse than ever, according to the first batch of data from the 2021 Census.
Known as the most comprehensive snapshot of the country, the national survey conducted every five years tells us about the economic, social and cultural make-up of the country.
Here are the highlights from the 2021 census data that you may have missed.
Australia's millennials have crept up on baby boomers
Baby boomers and millennials each include more than 5.4 million people.
The number of millennials is increasing through migration, while the number of baby boomers is decreasing.
Australian Bureau of Statistics' deputy statistician Theresa Dickenson said the latest census highlights the differences, including levels of volunteering, religious affiliation and needs for assistance with tasks of daily living.
But what about Generation X?
This generation — aged between 40 and 54 years — makes up the third-biggest population group in Australia, at 19.3 per cent.
Here is how it breaks down:
- Baby boomers (55-74 years) — 21.5 per cent
- Millennials (25-39 years) — 21.5 per cent
- Generation X (40-54 years) — 19.3 per cent
- Generation Z (10-24 years) — 18.2 per cent
- Generation Alpha (0-9 years) — 12.0 per cent
- Interwar (75 years and over) — 7.5 per cent
The 2021 Census counted 25,422,788 people in Australia, an increase of 8.6 per cent since the 2016 Census.
Pandemic didn't completely stop immigration
Ms Dickinson said that, while the pandemic had impacted the flow of people into Australia, the latest census showed more than one million migrants have arrived in Australia since 2017.
However, 850,000 of those arrived before the end of 2019.
She said that more-detailed data about how the pandemic had changed the lives of Australians would be released in October.
More than eight million Australians have a long-term health condition
The 2021 Census was the first time the ABS asked about diagnosed long-term health conditions.
Two million people reported having at least one of the following conditions: mental health (2,231,543), arthritis (2,150,396) or asthma (2,068,020).
Those three were the most-reported long-term health condition.
Women are more likely to report having a long-term health condition, with 34 per cent suffering at least one, compared with 30 per cent of men.
Every 20th household has at least one person who served, or is serving, in the ADF
This is what we learned from the other new question in the census.
That means roughly 5.3 per cent of Australian households have at least one person who has served, or is serving, in the ADF, which amounts to 581,139 people in total.
Australian Bureau of Statistics' chief statistician David Gruen said it was one of his favourite statistics from the latest census.
That's because the data is "at small-area level", allowing for a more-targeted delivery of support services for veterans.
"The data collected in this census will enable delivery of more-targeted services for Australian veterans," he said.
There was a 25 per cent increase in people who identify as Indigenous
Dr Gruen says the proportion of people who are aged over 65 years who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander has gone up 50 per cent.
He said that followed a similar pattern noted in previous censuses.
There were 47,677 Indigenous people aged 65 years and over in 2021, up from 31,000 in 2016.
"The numbers went up: 2.8 per cent of the Australian population identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in 2016 and that is up to 3.2 per cent now," he said.
"So, it is not just natural increase, it's also an increase in the number of people who are self-identifying."
He said the feedback on this section of the census was encouraging.
"I think it will repay a lot of research to actually find out about why it is that more people are feeling comfortable about identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander," Dr Gruen said.
The data also showed that more than 78,000 people spoke an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language.
That said, there was an estimated 17 per cent under-count of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Emeritus Professor Sandra Harding said the panel charged with determining the quality of the census found that, despite increased efforts and investment by the ABS, an estimated 17 per cent net under-count of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Professor Harding said that issue had "persisted in 2021, consistent with the last two censuses" and "the ABS will examine this further".
The net under-count rate for all of Australia was just 0.7 per cent.
Nearly half of Australians have a parent born overseas
In 2021, 48.2 per cent of Australians reported having a parent born overseas.
This figure was 41 per cent 30 years ago.
It also found that the population continues to be drawn from across the globe, with 27.6 per cent of people reporting a birthplace overseas.
Largest increase in country of birth was noted from India
In this latest census, the largest increase in country of birth, outside of Australia, was India, with 217,963 additional people counted.
This means that India has overtaken China and New Zealand to become the third-largest country of birth, behind Australia and England.
Number of people living in high-rises was 'unexpected'
The 2021 Census separately identified high-rises — nine or more storeys — as places of residence.
It found that more than half a million people (550,592) live in Australia’s high-rise apartments.
More than 2.5 million people (2,620,903), or 10.3 per cent of us, now live in apartments.
Ms Dickinson was asked what was the most unusual or unexpected statistic to come out of the 2021 data.
She said it was the number of people living in high-rises.
Proportion of households that own outright has dropped
Two-thirds of households (66.0 per cent) own their home outright or with a mortgage, very similar to censuses back to 1996 (67.8 per cent).
However, the proportion of households that own their homes outright dropped from 40 per cent in 1996 (41.6 per cent) to 30 per cent in 2021 (31.0 per cent).
Single-parent families cracked the one-million mark
For the first time, the census recorded more than one million one-parent families (1,068,268), of which four out of every five of those parents were female.
Male, female, non-binary and ...?
The panel was asked if the census results underestimate gender diversity because questions only asked if a person was a male, female or non-binary with no other options.
Dr Gruen said the ABS was instructed by the government to ask a question on sex but not on gender or sexual orientation.
He said there was "no question that the 2021 census did not collect information on gender identity and so it can't be used to infer information on gender identity".
