Christmas Island census data

Summary

• Total population: 1692
• Median age: 38
• Most common ancestry: Chinese
• Most common country of birth: Australia
• Most common religion: Islam
• Median weekly personal income: $1,233
• Median weekly household income: $2,659
• Average household size: 2.5 people

Demographics¹

Population

The total population of Christmas Island (CI) in 2021 was 1,692. Of these, 59.5% of the population were male and 40.5% were female.

Chart shows the CI population result for each Census from 1996. The population of CI in 1996 was 1906 people, in 2001 was 1446, in 2006 was 1349, in 2011 was 2072, in 2016 was 1843, and in 2021 was 1692.

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Age

In 2021, the median age was 38, which is the same as the national median age. People aged 65 years and over made up 13.0% of the population. Children (0—14 years) made up 16.7% of the population.

The proportion of residents aged 65 and over has increased since 2016, where 9.7% of people were 65 years or older. At the same time, the proportion of residents aged 0—14 years has decreased from 17.0% in 2016 to 16.7% in 2021.

Cultural and language diversity

Ancestry

In 2021, the most common ancestries on CI were Chinese (22.2%), Australian (17.0%), Malay (16.1%), English (12.5%) and Indonesian (3.8%).

Chart shows 22.2% of the CI population identified as having Chinese ancestry, 17.0% Australian, 16.1% Malay, 12.5% English and 3.8% Indonesian.

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Country of Birth

In 2021, 40.8% of people on CI were Australian-born. Following Australia, the most common countries of birth were Malaysia (18.6%), Singapore (2.5%) England (2.0%) and New Zealand (1.9%).

41.2% of people had both parents born overseas, while 19.1% of people had both parents born in Australia. 7.1% of people had only their mother born overseas, while 6.2% had only their father born overseas. The most common birthplaces for parents were Malaysia, Australia, China, Singapore and England.

Language Spoken at Home

In 2021, more than half (60.4%) of households on CI reported that a non-English language was spoken at home.

29.3% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin (13.9%), Malay (18.4%), Cantonese (3.7%), Min Nan (2.1%) and Indonesian (1.1%).

Religion

Islam is the most common religious affiliation on CI.

In 2021, the most common responses for religion on CI were Islam (22.1%), Buddhism (15.2%) and Catholic (7.3%). 19.7% identified as having No Religion and 26.7% of respondents gave no answer.

Employment

Income

In 2021, the median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over on CI was $1,233. This figure is 1.5 times the national median weekly personal income of $805.

The median weekly personal income on CI increased by 6.0% ($69) from 2016 to 2021, compared to 21.6% nationally.

The median weekly household income on CI was $2,109, which was higher than the national median of $1,746.

Chart shows the increase of the CI median weekly personal income. The CI figure increased from $682 in 2006, to $1,021 in 2011, $1,164 in 2016 to $1,233 in 2021.

Over the same time, the national median weekly personal income increased from $466 in 2006, to $577 in 2011, $662 in 2016 and $805 in 2021.

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Unpaid Work

In the week before the 2021 Census, 47.8% of people aged 15 years and over did unpaid domestic work, compared to the national median of 67.7%.

During the two weeks before the Census, 19.3% provided care for children (compared to 26.3% nationally) and 5.6% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long-term illness or problems related to old age (compared to 11.9% nationally).

In the 12 months prior to the Census, 16.0% of people did voluntary work through an organisation or a group, compared to 14.1% nationally.

Dwellings

Tenure and Household Composition

In 2021, 78.9% of private dwellings on CI were occupied and 20.4% were unoccupied. Of occupied private dwellings, 48.3% were rented, 25.4% were owned outright and 14.9% were owned with a mortgage.

The average household size was 2.5 people. Of all households, 68.4% were family households, 30.7% were single person households and 0.9% were group households.

Mortgage and Rent

In 2021, median rent on CI was $150 per week, compared to the national median rent of $375 per week. Households with rent payments less than or equal to 30% of their household income comprise 77.9% (58.7% nationally), while households with rent payments greater than 30% of household income are 9.8% (32.2% nationally).

Median mortgage repayments were $1,300 per week, which is similar to the national median of $1,863. 74.6% of households had mortgage repayments less than or equal to 30% of household income, compared to 74.0% nationally.

Motor Vehicles

In 2021, 7.3% of occupied private dwellings on CI had no registered motor vehicles garaged or parked at their address, 39.6% had one registered motor vehicle, 30.6% had two registered motor vehicles and 21.1% had three or more registered motor vehicles.