2032.0 - Census of Population and Housing: Australia in Profile -- A Regional Analysis, 1996  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 14/12/1998   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

MEDIA RELEASE

December 14, 1998
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
141/1998

Australia in Profile: A regional analysis of SA - ABS

A major new social report, Australia in Profile: A Regional Analysis,released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, analyses results from the 1996 Census of Population and Housing to describe some of the major differences or similarities in the characteristics and well-being of people living in different parts of Australia. This report enables comparison of South Australian regions with regions across other States and Territories.

This report capitalises on the strength of the Census which has the capacity to provide detailed information for small geographic areas. The report compares and contrasts the circumstances of people living in urban and rural areas, and identifies regions with the highest or lowest proportions of people with particular characteristics.

Australia in Profile: A Regional Analysis is divided into two main parts. The first consists of seven chapters discussing topics of social interest and concern in a range of areas including, cultural diversity, living arrangements, and employment and unemployment.

The second part of the report consists of a detailed social indicator table which presents a selection of key indicators for Statistical Local Areas - towns, shires and municipalities - across SA and Australia. At a glance South Australia can be compared with other regions in Australia.

Some of the main South Australian findings in the report are:
  • Fleurieu and Yorke were the "oldest" areas in South Australia with around 21% of their total population aged 65 years and over. In contrast, the Far North had the lowest proportion of persons aged 65+ at just 3.7%, while in the whole of South Australia the proportion was 14.1%. The Far North also contained the highest proportion of persons aged 0-14 (28.2%).
  • The inland region in South Australia was one of the regions among the States which had the lowest population density with approximately less than one person per 10 square kilometres.
  • The Northern Statistical Division ranks fourth of all Australian regions that have the highest representation of people born in the United Kingdom (15%)
  • Four of the top five regions in Australia reporting affiliation to the Lutheran religion were in South Australia. These were the Statistical Divisions of Murray Lands (16.5%), Outer Adelaide (12.9%), Eyre (10.1%) and Yorke and Lower North (8.5%)
  • Due to limited access to tertiary institutions and the need to move to larger regional centres or cities to obtain access, regions with low tertiary education participation were typically country or remote areas. The Eyre, Murray Lands, Yorke and Lower North Statistical Divisions, less than 1% of the population aged 15 years and over attended university.
  • The highest weekly per capita household incomes were in the Adelaide Council area with $522, then Walkerville Council Area ($492), followed by Roxby Downs Municipality ($446) and St. Peters Council ($417).
  • The Eyre Statistical Division, while it had a large proportion of men employed in high and medium skill level occupations had low incomes, and Yorke and Lower North Statistical Division ranks among the bottom 10 regions in Australia with low median incomes ($214 per week).

Australia in Profile: a Regional Analysis (cat. no. 2032.0) is available at ABS bookshops. Other Media Releases which look Nationally and at individual States and Territories are also available from this site.