Indigenous marriage rates in 2016: Now at 19.5% between 20-49

Been looking at some marriage rates in Australia based on the 2016/2011 census. A couple of surprising things jump out, especially in regards to Marriage.


Marriage is often held up as the best place to raise children, due to the stability and economic protections it offers, but there are some concerns that more and more people are raising kids in de facto relationships, which could have some impacts on child development. So I wanted to see if this was the case.


And it does appear to be true. There are some reductions in marriage in the child rearing years


In 2011, the % of non-Indigenous people between 20-49 (prime child bearing years) that were married was at 44.37%. By 2016, that had dropped to 42.60%


But the biggest concern is Indigenous Australia. In 2011, the % of Indigenous (Aboriginal/TSI/both) between 20-49 that were married was at a lowly 20.56%. By 2016, that had dropped further to 19.50%


You want to know why Indigenous Australians are not getting ahead in comparison to non-Indigenous? This could be a reason.