After crunching the numbers from last year's bungled Census, the Bureau of Statistics has revealed Australians are becoming more culturally diverse, and losing touch with religion.
In 2016, 30% of people identified as having 'no religion', compared with 25% in 2011.
Some of the other big takeaways from the data are:
- The number of Australians speaking only English at home fell from almost 77% in 2011 to almost 73% in 2016.
- Nearly half of the population are either first or second generation Australians - either being born overseas or with a parent born overseas.
- Of the more than six million born overseas, almost 20 per cent have arrived since 2012.
- England and New Zealand are still the most common countries of birth after Australia but a growing number are born in China and India.
- More than 300 languages are being spoken in Australian homes. After English, the most common languages are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese and Vietnamese.
- Two-thirds of the population now live in capital cities, with five million in Sydney and four-and-a-half million in Melbourne.
- More Australians are identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, with 2.8 per cent in 2016 compared with 2.5 per cent in 2011.
- The figures revealed the median age among the indigenous community was 23, compared with 38 for the non-indigenous population.