Celebrate the start of summer with ABS statistics

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MEDIA RELEASE
30 November 2012
Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)

196/2012
Celebrate the start of summer with ABS statistics


Summer is on the way and to help celebrate the season of sunshine, swimming, sunscreen and sand, we’ve put together a list of summer statistics from a range of Australian Bureau of Statistics publications for media to use at their leisure. Enjoy!


Household spending

• On average, Australian households spend around $109 a year on fresh fish and seafood.
• On average, Australian households spend around $20 a year on Christmas decorations.
• On average, Australian households spends around $8.34 a year on sunscreen.
• On average, Australian households spend around $29 a year on fishing equipment.
• On average, Australian households spend around $11 a year on bottled gas for BBQs.
• On average, Australian households spend around $136 a year on ice confectionary, like ice cream!
• On average, Australian households spend around $656 a year on beer.
• On average, Australian households spend around $62 a year on outdoor and garden furniture.
• On average, Australian households spend around $36 a year on camping equipment.
(Source: Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of results, 2009-10. Cat. no. 6530.0).

Health and fitness

• The most recent Sports and Physical Recreation survey shows 1.29 million Australians aged 15 or over participate in swimming for recreation or exercise.
(Source: Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation, Australia, 2009-10. Cat. no. 4177.0).
• Of all persons with cancer in 2011-12, one in three had skin cancer (33 per cent) making it the most common type of cancer in Australia.
(Source: Profiles of Health, Australia, 2011-13. Cat. no. 4338.0).
Be careful in the water, our most recent causes of death figures show that 221 people died due to accidental drowning in 2010.
(Source: Causes of Death, Australia, 2010. Cat. no. 3303.0).

Summertime fun

• On average, Australian households spend $2,736 a year on domestic and international holidays.
(Source: Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of results, 2009-10. Cat. no. 6530.0).
• Last December the most popular overseas short-term travel destinations for Australians were New Zealand, the USA and Indonesia.
(Source: Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, December 2011. Cat. no. 3401.0).
• In 2009-10 over 293,000 Australians attended a tennis match.
(Source: Spectator Attendance at Sporting Events, 2009-10. Cat. no. 4174.0).

Weddings

• Over 28,000 couples were married in the summer of 2009-10 (Dec 2009 – Feb 2010).The most popular date of the season was 27 February 2010 when 1,657 happy couples tied the knot.
(Source: Marriages and Divorces, Australia, 2010. Cat. no. 3310.0).

Work and industry

• There are over 3,500 Australians working as lifeguards as their main occupation.
(Source: Census 2011).
• In 2010-11, Australian companies produced $12.2 million worth of waterskis, surfboards, sailboards and other water sports equipment for export. They also produced $100 million worth of boats, yachts and other vessels for export.
(Source: Sports and Physical Recreation: A Statistical Overview, Australia, 2011. Cat. no. 4156.0).

Media Note:

When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.