Recent Census data has suggested a significant increase of Australians identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed that 812,728 people identify as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, up a notable 25 per cent (163,557) people from 2016 figures.

This was higher than the increase between 2006 and 2011 (20.5 per cent) and also up between 2011 and 2016 (18.4 per cent).

The largest increases in people confirming their Indigenous heritage in the Census survey were in NSW (up 61,867 people), Queensland (up 50,821 people) and Victoria (17,858 people).

The data reveals the reason for the substantial increase can be attributed to new births being registered as being from the Indigenous cohort.

In fact, 76.2 per cent of the increase was in the 0-19 year age cohort, with 43 per cent of the increase due to demographic factors - births, deaths and migration.

However, other changes include the fact that a growing number of people want to officially identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in government records.

A person's decision to identify as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in the Census can occur due to a range of influences, such as the way the question is asked on the form, exposure to negative experiences and the perceived purpose and relevance of their Indigenous status, the ABS points out.

The method for collecting information about people who identify as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent is through self-identification.

The ABS reveals it is exploring how the additional data can improve population data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Further analysis by the ABS will explore longitudinal data to explore further changes in counts, which are expected to be released later this year and early 2024.