SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, June 28, 2017 (Latin American Herald Tribune): The Australian population is aging, more ethnically diverse and less religious than in the past, according to the 2016 national census released on Tuesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. About 95.1 percent of the Australian population responded to the census, which is carried out every five years. The 2016 census established the country’s total population at 23,401,892.
About 29.6 percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 22 percent in 2011 and a large jump from one percent in 1966. The census also showed a decline in the number of people declaring themselves Christian, from 88 percent in 1966 to 52 percent in 2016. In contrast, Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim devotees have increased by 533, 200 and 160 percent respectively, in the last 25 years. The census also revealed that the country is aging, with one in six Australians being over 65 years old.