21 October 2004. 2016 census At the , Palm Island had 2,455 residents, of whom 74.5% identify as Australian Aboriginal and 12.8% identify as Torres Strait Islander. The Indigenous population generally identify with either the Bwgcolman (descendants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people removed to Palm Island from throughout Queensland by the authorities, or Manbarra (original inhabitants) people. , the community consisted of approximately 42 Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander clan or family groups. Compared with other parts of Australia, the Palm Island community is young, with 32.0% under 15 and only 3.3% over 64, and more religious. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 50.4%, Anglican 19.4%, Other Protestant 8.5%, Baptist 5.0% (total 91.2% Christian) and No Religion 8.1% (compared with 29.2% for Queensland). 92.2% of respondents reported speaking only English at home (compared with 81.2% for Queensland), the next most common being Yumplatok (Torres Strait Creole) at 0.2%. In 2016, 702 people were in the available workforce: of these, 38.6% were employed full-time, 28.3% were employed part-time and 29.1% were unemployed. The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over was (compared with in Queensland). 93.8% of occupied private dwellings were rented. Level of education achieved was much lower than Queensland as a whole, with only a tiny number having any higher or further education. Education Palm Island Settlement State School opened in 1926, but closed in 1927. A mission school operated on the island in 1930s. In 1962, Palm Island Settlement School opened, being renamed Palm Island State School, and in 1994 was renamed Bwgcolman Community School. The Sisters of Our Lady Help of Christians established St Michael's Catholic Convent in 1934. They established a temporary Catholic school in October 1934 with 97 students, but a lack of funds prevented the establishment of a permanent Catholic school until 1938. St Michael's Catholic School was blessed on Sunday 24 July 1938 by the Apostolic Delegate Giovanni (John) Panico. In 1945, the Sisters of Our Lady Help of Christians were replaced by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. In 1969, the school was relocated as it was in the way of the development of the airport. From 1979 to 1991, the school was under lay leadership, before the Sisters of the Good Samaritan took over in 1992. Palm Island Provisional School opened in 1938 for the children of the white officials on the island.