Story perspectives

Study Estimates 2.22 Million Indigenous People Pre-Colonization

By Drooid · Sep 15, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Researcher Alan Williams and colleagues estimate pre-colonial Indigenous population at a median of 2.22 million.
They calculate that about 2.06 million Indigenous Australians died between 1788 and 1861.
Excess deaths may range from 700,000 to 4.2 million, reflecting disease, massacres and displacement.
The 2021 census recorded 812,728 Indigenous people, about 37 percent of the pre-colonial estimate.

1 of 1

Story summary

Researcher Alan Williams and colleagues estimate pre-colonial Indigenous population at a median of 2.22 million.
They calculate that about 2.06 million Indigenous Australians died between 1788 and 1861.
Excess deaths may range from 700,000 to 4.2 million, reflecting disease, massacres and displacement.
The 2021 census recorded 812,728 Indigenous people, about 37 percent of the pre-colonial estimate.