Colonization of Australia: Study: Number of Aborigines was much higher than thought
How many people lived in Australia before colonisation? According to a study, many more than previously thought. At the same time, it becomes clear how drastically the indigenous population declined afterwards.
A new study has found that the indigenous population of Australia was significantly larger than previously thought before European colonization. In 1788, there were approximately 2.22 million Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but by 1861, this number had decreased by 93% to around 155,000 due to diseases, violence, and displacement caused by settlers.
The study, published in "Nature Human Behaviour", used a combination of ethnographic observations, archaeological and genetic reconstructions, and computer models to estimate the pre-colonial population. The indigenous population has been growing since the 1950s and reached around 813,000 in 2021, and is expected to return to its pre-colonial level by 2047 if the growth rate continues.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
