Census data released

RESULTS: The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released results from the Census undertaken in August 2021. Picture: Supplied.

Elsie Adamo

CENSUS data made public this week gives a snapshot of Mount Gambier’s changing demographics.

Conducted every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the last Census in August 2021 gives a snapshot of Australia and outlines key statistics on demographics such as gender, age, wages, occupation and living arrangements.

According to the date released from the last Census, a ‘typical’ person in Mount Gambier is a 41-year-old female who is married or in a de-facto relationship, born in Australia, who is not religious and whose parents were also born in Australia.

Her family income is around $1680 a week and she lives in a three-bedroom house.

Despite reports of a growing population during the pandemic, the census data only showed a small difference in population, growing from 26,276 to 26,878 in the Mount Gambier City Council area.

Within Grant District Council, the population was listed as 8,636, up from 8,203 in 2016.

Of the long-term health conditions reported by people in Mount Gambier, the highest prevalence was mental health conditions among 11 per cent of the population, above the national average of 8.8 per cent.

One of the major differences between the 2016 and 2021 census was a strong increase in respondents indicating they have no religion at 52.1 per cent up from 39.3 per cent in 2016.

The local rate is also higher than the national average, with 38.4 per cent of all Australians saying they were not religious.

The city also saw a jump in the population that identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, at 764 in the Mount Gambier local government area compared to 599 in 2016.