Australia is a multicultural democracy of 25 million people. But the 227 men and women elected to govern it tell a different story — older, more Anglo, more Christian, and more male than the nation they represent. This is what the gap looks like.
Women make up half of Australia — but not quite half of parliament
Sources: ABS Census 2021; APH Parliamentary Library 2022
Parliament is dominated by the 50s — hover each point to see the gap
Sources: ABS Census 2021; APH Parliamentary Library 2022
England is represented at nearly 3x its population share — while India, China and the Philippines are almost invisible
Bubble size = population share. A ratio of 1x = proportional representation. Sources: ABS Census 2021; APH Parliamentary Library 2022
Australia is secularising fast — parliament hasn’t moved
Positive = overrepresented in parliament. Negative = underrepresented. Sources: ABS Census 2021; APH Parliamentary Library 2022
Across every dimension, parliament lags behind the nation it governs
Sources: ABS Census 2021; APH Parliamentary Library 2022
Data sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2021; Australian Parliamentary Library, 47th Parliament Statistics 2022.