Profile of the Catholic population of Australia
1 March 2019
The Profile of the Catholic population of Australia is a tool to help you understand the contemporary Australian Catholic community and its needs.
The data in the profile is from the Australian Census which is carried out every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Most of the data comes from the 2016 Census, but some comparisons are provided with 2011 and earlier years.
The data in the profile applies to all those who identified themselves as Catholic in the Census. Census data informs us about a population's demographic characteristics, but not about their religious practice.
Associated diocesan and parish profiles will be published during 2020.
This social profile, and the companion versions of it to be produced for every Catholic parish and diocese in Australia, are an outcome of the National Catholic Census Project established at the time of the 1991 Census. This project is managed by the ACBC National Centre for Pastoral Research.
Profile of the Catholic population of Australia
Document: Profile of the Catholic population of Australia
(PDF 3.3MB)