Australian population aging, more diverse, less religious: National Census

The census showed a decline in the number of people declaring themselves Christian

The Australian population is ageing, more ethnically diverse and less religious than in the past, according to the 2016 national census released on Tuesday.

About 95.1 per cent of the Australian population responded to the census, which is carried out every five years, Efe news quoted the Australian Bureau of Statistics census as saying.

The 2016 census established the country's total population at 23,401,892.

About 29.6 per cent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 22 per cent in 2011 and a large jump from one per cent in 1966.

The census also showed a decline in the number of people declaring themselves Christian, from 88 per cent in 1966 to 52 per cent in 2016.

In contrast, Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim devotees have increased by 533, 200 and 160 per cent respectively, in the last 25 years.

Nearly half of the Australian population were born overseas or had at least one of their parents born overseas, with the UK and New Zealand being the top countries of birth.

The next top countries of origin were China and India, with a combined one million Australians born in those countries.

The census revealed that 72.7 per cent of the Australian households speak English at home, while there are 301 other languages spoken across the country.

Almost 47,000 same-sex couples were recorded, out of 6.1 million families in the country.

The census also revealed that the country is ageing, with one in six Australians being over 65 years old.

This was the first time the national census was carried out online, although it was disrupted by cyber attacks, forcing the ABS to temporarily suspend the system.