Facts and Figures

It has long been recognised that the health, living conditions, educational standards and employment prospects of Indigenous Australians are generally much poorer than that of other Australians.

This situation is not the fault of individuals, it is the outcome of neglect and a complex interplay of the same factors that lead to poor health in all societies, all over the world.

The following basic facts and figures will help you to understand the health profile of Indigenous Australians:

  • Indigenous Australians have a life expectancy that is around 17 years less than that of other Australians.
  • The life expectancy of Indigenous Australians is 59 years for males and 65 years for females. This compares to 77 years for other Australian males and 82 years for all females.
  • In some regions of Australia, up to 75% of Indigenous males die before the age of 65, compared to just 26% of non-Indigenous males.
  • The mortality rate of Indigenous infants is three times the rate of non-Indigenous infants.
  • Indigenous people suffer high rates of nutrition and diet related chronic disease. Indigenous Australians aged 35-54 years are between 20 to 40 times more likely to die from type 2 diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians in the same age group.
  • More than a third of Indigenous homes in the Northern Territory are over-crowded, putting people at greater risk of infectious diseases and other physical and mental health problems.
  • In some remote Indigenous communities and schools, up to 60% of children suffer from trachoma, an infectious eye disease that causes blindness if left untreated.
  • Benchmark testing in schools has found that by Year 7, less than one in five children living in very remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory can read at the accepted minimum standard.
  • Chronic suppuritive otitis media (CSOM), a serious middle ear infection that causes permanent hearing loss, affects up to 40% of young children in Indigenous communities living in remote parts of Australia. The World Health Organisation considers Australian Indigenous people as a "special high risk group" for CSOM.

Sources:

The Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (cat no. 4704.0 (9 Mortality), Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2005

Guidelines for the public health management of trachoma in Australia, Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, 2006

Indigenous Education Strategic Plan, Department of Employment Education and Training, Northern Territory Government, 2006

Chronic suppurative otitis media: burden of Illness and management options, World Health Organization (2004) pg 18