200,000 boost lifts number of Aussie Catholics above 5m

Sydney
7 July 2002

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200,000 boost lifts number of Aussie Catholics above 5m

Catholics as a proportion of total population.

By Damir Govorcin

The Catholic population in Australia has passed the five million mark. The 2001 Census report shows the number of Catholics has grown by more than 200,000 in the five years since the previous Census - in 1996.

The number of Catholics is now 5,001,624, an increase of 4.2 per cent.

“It says something that Australia’s population is still under 20 million, and a quarter of the population is made up of Catholics,” said Bob Dixon, of the pastoral projects office of Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

“In one sense it shows the sizeable contribution Catholics have made to Australian society in areas such as education and health,” he said.

“It also indicates the amount of growth in Catholics numbers is bigger than other religious groups.”

He acknowledged that it was a significant milestone, but would not be drawn into making a prediction for the 2006 Census.

However, he said, as more information becomes available over the next few months he will get a better indication of any likely increases.

The 2001 Census produced few surprises. The ACT still has the highest proportion of Catholics, 29.1 per cent (down from 29.8 per cent in 1996) and Tasmania the smallest 19.3 per cent.

“The fact is that Catholics are attracted to work in the public service, which is why a large number of them live in the ACT,” Bob Dixon said.

“Tasmania has always had the lowest proportion, because not many Catholics migrated there.”

That’s in contrast to other states, such as NSW and Victoria, which have a high proportion of Catholics due to the presence of the Croatian, Philippine, Maltese, Italian and Vietnamese communities.

The number of Catholics among Australia’s indigenous population increased from 81,265 in 1996 to 94,494 in 2001.

This represents 23 per cent of the total indigenous population, the same as in 1996.

“In regards to the indigenous population, my suspicion is it’s the result of better techniques and a better response to the Census, rather than a magical increase in people,” Dixon said.