The 2021 Census counted more than 5.5 million (5,552,973) couple families, of which half (53%) have children living with them, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data released today.
The proportion of couple families without children living with them has been growing steadily, with only 41% of couple families not having children living with them in 1996..
For the first time, the Census recorded more than a million one parent families (1,068,268), of which four out of every five of those parents were female.
As a proportion of families this is increasing slowly, from under 15% (14.5%) in 1996 to nearly 16% (15.9%) in 2021.
In 2021, the Census counted over 2.5 million (2,550,284) families with children under the age of 15 years.
David Gruen, Australian Statistician: “The 2021 Census data provides a fascinating glimpse into the structure and changing profile of Australian families.
"We think there may be some COVID-19 impacts on child care arrangements, with the Census seeing a reduction in people aged over 55 years looking after other people’s children, for example their grandchildren.
"In 2016, the Census saw an increase of nearly 140,000 people (137,227) over 55 who look after other people’s children to more than 825,000. However in 2021, we have seen that figure drop by 50,000 to under 775,000”.
The variety in make-up of Australian families is reflected in the richness of the 2021 Census data presented by the ABS today.
In the 2021 Census, 46.5% of Australians over the age of 15 were in a registered marriage (9,665,708). Following the 2017 amendments to the Marriage Act 1961, which enabled marriage equality, nearly 25,000 same sex marriages (23,914) were counted in the 2021 Census.
More than 1.8 million people are divorced (1,831,952) and over 600,000 are separated (674,590). Over one million Australians are widowed (1,029,142) and, of these, eight out of ten are female.\
Key statistics
- There are 5.5 million (5,552,973) couple families and one million (1,068,268) lone parents.
- There are 2,608,834 million couples without children.
- Nearly 25,000 same sex marriages (23,914) were counted in the 2021 Census.
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8,747,135 people are married, 2,168,351 people are in a de facto relationship and 7,863,327 people are not married.
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