Australian Bureau of Statistics

Rate the ABS website
ABS Home
ABS @ Facebook ABS @ Twitter ABS RSS ABS Email notification service
CensusAtSchool Australia
 


CensusAtSchool home page

Data banner

Back to CensusAtSchool home page National Time Series Tables


These tables compare CensusAtSchool data from 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Percentage totals may not equal 100 due to rounding. Some options have changed over time. All tables can be readily copied and pasted into an Excel worksheet. You can make more detailed comparisons by using the online Random Sampler.

New data is added annually.

Tables that have this icon in front of the title have infographics that you can view and download. Simply click on the icon next to the table's heading to go to the Infographics page.


Comparing 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012 Time Series Summary Data

Your Details Analysis

Table 1: Participation in the CensusAtSchool questionnaire by sex (%)
Table 2: Birth months (%)
Table 3: Place of Birth (%)
Table 4: Participation in the CensusAtSchool questionnaire by state/territory (count and %)

Your Languages Analysis

Table 5: Number of spoken languages by sex (%)
Table 6: Spoken languages (%)

Your Lifestyle Analysis

Table 7: Favourite takeaway foods (%)
Table 8: What students had for breakfast (%)
Table 9: Hours of sleep on a school night by year level (mean and median)
Table 10: Access to the internet at home (count and %)
Table 11: Favourite sport by sex (%)
Table 12: Favourite music by sex (%)
Table 13: Students who take actions in the home to conserve the environment by state/territories (%)

Your Opinion Analysis

Table 14: Importance of environmental and social issues (median)

Your Details Analysis


Table 1: Participation in the CensusAtSchool questionnaire by sex (%)

Sex
2006
2008
2010
2011
2012
Male
46.1
49.2
47.4
46.7
46.0
Female
53.9
50.8
52.6
53.3
54.0
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

Table 2: Birth Months (%)

Month
2006
2008
2010
2011
2012
January
8.5
8.8
8.1
8.8
8.3
February
7.9
7.8
8.1
8.0
7.9
March
8.6
8.6
9.0
8.8
8.6
April
8.2
8.4
8.6
8.0
8.1
May
8.4
8.4
8.3
8.5
8.7
June
8.1
8.1
8.5
8.2
8.2
July
8.5
8.2
8.5
8.0
8.2
August
8.5
8.6
8.1
8.7
8.3
September
8.6
8.6
8.4
8.7
8.7
October
8.7
8.6
8.6
8.6
8.8
November
7.8
7.9
7.9
8.0
8.1
December
8.1
8.1
7.9
7.8
8.2
Total
99.9
100.1
100.0
100.1
100.0

In 2006, 0.08% of students responded "Unsure" for their birth month. This option was not included after 2006.

Table 3: Place of Birth (%)

Place of Birth
2006
2008
2010
2011
2012
ACT
1.5
1.4
2.0
2.7
1.2
NSW
24.0
27.8
24.0
22.5
24.9
NT
0.9
0.7
1.0
1.3
1.0
Qld
10.5
9.3
12.2
16.6
17.2
SA
9.9
13.5
9.9
9.6
7.0
Tas
6.3
6.3
5.7
5.2
4.4
Vic
24.2
19.5
22.8
19.6
21.1
WA
11.8
10.8
11.1
10.3
11.0
Other Australian Territories
0.2
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.2
Overseas
10.7
10.5
11.0
11.9
12.0
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0


Table 4: Participation in the CensusAtSchool questionnaire by state/territory (count and %)

State/Territory
2006 count
2008 count
2010 count
2011 count
2012 count
2006 %
2008 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
ACT
4,027
638
509
865
263
3.6
1.4
2.3
3.4
1.2
NSW
28,494
13,514
5,742
5,923
5755
25.4
30.6
25.7
23.4
26.6
NT
756
178
214
390
213
0.7
0.4
1.0
1.5
1.0
Qld
13,237
4,671
3,178
5,351
4682
11.8
10.6
14.2
21.1
21.7
SA
11,901
6,745
2,453
2,739
1625
10.6
15.3
11.0
10.8
7.5
Tas
8,049
3,249
1,506
1,543
1147
7.2
7.4
6.8
6.1
5.3
Vic
30,306
9,534
5,787
5,392
5106
27.0
21.6
25.9
21.3
23.6
WA
15,403
5,660
2,930
3,104
2826
13.7
12.8
13.1
12.3
13.1
Total
112,173
44,189
22,319
25,307
21,617
100.0
100.1
100.0
99.9
100.0



Your Languages Analysis


Table 5: Number of spoken languages by sex (%)

Number of languages
2008
2010
2011
2012
Males
Females
Males
Females
Males
Females
Males
Females
1
74.6
73.5
72.1
69.2
70.3
67.9
69.6
65.8
2
19.6
20.6
20.4
23.1
21.7
24.5
22.1
25.4
3
4.0
4.3
4.3
5.1
5.0
5.5
4.9
6.3
4
0.9
1.1
1.1
1.3
1.2
1.2
1.4
1.2
5
0.3
0.2
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.3
0.5
0.4
6
0.1
0.1
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.2
0.2
7
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.2
8
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
9
0.3
0.2
0.9
0.4
0.9
0.3
1.0
0.4
Total
99.9
100.0
99.9
99.9
99.9
100.0
99.9
100.0

2006 questionnaire did not include a question regarding the number of languages spoken. Table 6: Spoken languages (%)

Language
2006
2010
2011
2012
English
89.1
89.1
89.2
87.0
Aboriginal English
0.7
Afrikaans
0.2
Albanian
0.1
Amharic
0.1
Arabic
0.2
1.4
1.3
0.8
Arabic (incl. Lebanese)
0.6
Armenian
0.0
Assyrian (incl. Aramaic)
0.2
0.1
Auslan
0.0
Australian Indigenous Languages (incl. Kriol)
0.5
Bengali
0.1
Bosnian
0.1
Cantonese
1.0
1.2
1.0
1.3
Chinese other than Cantonese or Mandarin
0.5
Croatian
0.1
0.3
0.3
0.2
Czech
0.0
Dinka
0.1
Dutch
0.1
0.1
French
0.1
0.2
0.2
German
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.7
Greek
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.5
Hakka
0.1
Hindi
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.5
Hokkien
0.0
Hungarian
0.0
Indonesian
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.2
Italian
0.2
0.1
0.2
0.3
Japanese
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.2
Khmer
0.2
Korean
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.5
Lao
0.1
Macedonian
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
Malay
0.1
Maltese
0.0
0.0
0.0
Mandarin
0.4
0.8
0.8
1.2
Maori (New Zealand)
0.1
Middle Eastern and North African languages
0.0
Netherlandic
0.0
Oceanian
0.0
Papuan Languages
0.0
Persian
0.1
Polish
0.1
0.1
0.1
Portuguese
0.1
Punjabi
0.1
Romanian
0.1
Russian
0.1
0.2
0.2
Samoan
0.2
0.1
Serbian
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.1
Sign Languages
0.0
Sinhalese
0.1
Somali
0.0
South Slavic
0.0
Southern Asian
0.0
Spanish
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.3
Swahili
0.0
Tagalog (Filipino)
0.2
0.4
0.4
0.5
Tamil
0.1
0.2
0.1
Thai
0.1
Tigrinya
0.0
Tongan
0.1
Torres Strait languages (incl. TSI Creole)
0.0
Turkish
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.1
Ukrainian
0.0
Urdu
0.1
Vietnamese
1.2
0.8
1.0
1.2
Other African language
0.2
Other American language
0.0
Other Asian language
0.2
Other European language
0.1
Other Middle Eastern language
0.1
Other Pacific language
0.1
Other
2.8
3.0
4.0
Total
100.3
99.8
100.0
99.9

Language options are based on top 25 languages according to ABS data.
Due to different collection methods, 2008 data is not included in time series.



Your Lifestyle Analysis



Table 7: Favourite takeaway foods (%)

Takeaway food
2010
2011
2012
None
1.4
1.5
1.8
Chicken (e.g. BBQ chicken)
7.8
7.2
8.1
Chips/Fries
16.6
15.8
15.3
Fish (e.g. Fish and Chips)
7.5
7.9
7.7
Fruit/Fruit Salad
2.2
2.6
2.5
Hamburgers
11.4
10.6
10.3
Kebabs/Wraps
9.2
8.4
8.6
Noodle dishes
4.0
4.4
4.6
Pies/Pasties
3.1
2.7
2.9
Pizza/Pasta
22.0
22.7
21.5
Rice dishes (e.g. Sushi)
4.6
5.4
5.6
Rolls/Sandwiches
2.1
2.4
2.2
Salads
1.8
1.8
1.9
Other
6.4
6.7
7.0
Total
100.1
100.1
100.0

2006 and 2008 data is not included in time series due to change in collection methods.


Table 8: What students had for breakfast (%)

Breakfast foods
2006
2008
2010
2011
2012
Did not eat breakfast
12.8
10.8
13.5
13.8
13.9
Bread or bread product
32.2
30.4
27.4
26.9
27.5
Breakfast bar/Snack bar or pack
3.5
1.6
1.2
1.2
1.4
Cereal or cereal product (eg. noodles)
50.5
Breakfast cereal
47.3
41.3
41.1
38.7
Noodles/rice
2.8
2.2
2.3
2.7
Meat or meat product (eg. sausage)
4.0
3.2
2.7
2.9
3.0
Milk or milk product (eg. yoghurt)
19.6
17.3
13.1
13.1
13.2
Lollies/potato chips
1.5
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.9
Soft drink
1.8
1.5
1.0
0.9
0.9
Tea/coffee
9.8
9.1
6.7
6.7
6.7
Baked beans/spaghetti
1.8
1.3
1.4
1.3
Eggs (eg. omelette, fried eggs, scrambled eggs)
6.0
4.8
5.7
6.1
Fruit/Fruit juice (eg. fruit salad, fruit smoothie)
11.3
8.6
8.2
8.5
Other
9.5
8.5
8.9
9.3

Columns may add to more than 100% because respondents were able to select more than one breakfast food from the list.



Table 9: Hours of sleep on a school night by year level (mean and median)

Year level
2008 mean
2010 mean
2011 mean
2012 mean
2008 median
2010 median
2011 median
2012 median
Year 4 or below
9.6
9.5
9.4
9.2
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
Year 5
9.5
9.5
9.4
9.2
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
Year 6
9.4
9.3
9.2
9.0
10.0
10.0
9.0
9.0
Year 7
9.0
8.9
8.9
8.7
9.0
9.0
9.0
9.0
Year 8
8.7
8.6
8.5
8.3
9.0
9.0
9.0
9.0
Year 9
8.4
8.3
8.3
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
Year 10
8.2
8.0
8.0
7.7
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
Year 11
7.9
7.9
7.7
7.6
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
Year 12
7.8
7.7
7.5
7.6
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
Other
7.9
7.5
7.6
7.4
8.0
8.0
8.0
7.0
Overall
8.9
8.7
8.6
8.4
9.0
9.0
9.0
9.0


Table 10: Access to the Internet at home (count and %)

Access to the internet
2006 count
2008 count
2010 count
2011 count
2012 count
2006 %
2008 %
2010 %
2011 %
2012 %
Broadband connection
59,638
32,187
17,504
19,780
16,508
53.2
72.8
78.4
78.2
76.4
Dial-up connection
33,212
5,382
1,318
1,144
731
29.6
12.2
5.9
4.5
3.4
I cannot access the Internet at home
15,473
3,894
1,419
1,328
980
13.8
8.8
6.4
5.2
4.5
Other (includes Internet access through mobile phones)
3,850
2,726
2,078
3,055
3398
3.4
6.2
9.3
12.1
15.7
Total
112,173
44,189
22,319
25,307
21,617
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0



Table 11: Favourite sport by sex (%)

Sport or Activity
2008 males
2008 females
2010 males
2010 females
2011 males
2011 females
2012 males
2012 females
Athletics
1.7
3.5
2.1
4.1
2.1
4.1
2.1
3.9
Baseball/Softball
1.3
1.1
1.5
1.3
1.7
1.3
1.8
1.0
Basketball
7.8
7.8
8.1
7.0
8.1
6.9
8.5
7.6
Bowling
1.3
1.0
Cricket
6.4
0.8
6.2
0.7
5.6
0.6
4.8
0.7
Cycling
2.9
0.9
2.5
1.2
2.0
0.8
2.1
1.1
Dancing
0.8
14.7
0.6
14.8
1.0
15.3
1.1
14.9
Football*
29.5
5.4
Football (AFL)
18.0
1.4
15.6
1.1
15.7
1.1
Football (Rugby League)
8.9
1.2
9.4
1.1
8.1
0.9
Football (Rugby Union)
3.0
0.3
3.9
0.2
3.9
0.2
Football (Soccer)
17.6
8.0
17.3
7.0
17.5
6.6
Golf
2.0
0.5
1.8
0.3
1.4
0.3
1.4
0.4
Gymnastics
0.5
3.6
0.7
3.6
0.6
4.2
0.8
3.8
Hockey*
2.3
3.3
2.5
3.0
2.5
3.3
Hockey (Field)
2.3
3.1
Hockey (Ice)
0.4
0.2
Martial Arts
2.4
1.4
3.0
1.9
3.4
2.0
3.3
1.9
Netball
0.2
22.3
0.2
21.6
0.4
22.7
0.3
22.8
Rowing
0.3
0.6
Rugby League
6.8
1.0
Rugby Union
3.6
0.3
Running/Jogging
0.9
1.6
Skateboarding/Rollerblading
2.8
1.3
2.8
1.4
2.8
1.2
2.6
1.6
Swimming
3.3
8.5
3.2
9.3
4.2
9.4
3.9
9.9
Table Tennis
1.6
0.7
Tennis
5.1
5.0
5.0
4.8
4.3
4.3
5.5
4.2
Walking/Hiking
1.2
1.9
Other activities/sports
13.0
10.9
9.3
10.6
10.5
10.8
10.1
10.7
None
2.3
2.1
3.4
3.4
3.4
3.6
4.0
3.6
Total
100.4
100.2
100.2
100.2
100.2
99.9
100.0
100.2

2006 questionnaire did not include a question regarding students' favourite sport/activity.
*Prior to 2010, there was only one category of Football and there were several categories of Hockey.



Table 12: Favourite music by sex (%)

Favourite music
2010 males
2010 females
2011 males
2011 females
Classical
1.9
1.9
2.0
1.9
Country
2.5
4.0
2.7
3.7
Jazz
1.2
1.9
1.4
1.5
Metal (e.g. heavy metal)
9.7
2.7
7.4
2.0
Pop
12.2
39.5
13.8
43.7
Punk
1.7
1.9
1.6
1.4
Rap/Hip Hop
21.1
16.1
23.9
16.3
Reggae
1.0
0.9
1.1
0.8
Rhythm and Blues (R&B)
2.4
4.3
2.3
3.3
Rock
20.5
6.3
15.8
5.4
Techno/Electronic
13.4
6.0
14.8
5.3
Other
8.0
12.4
8.9
12.7
None
4.5
2.2
4.4
1.9
Total
100.1
100.1
100.1
99.9

2006 and 2008 data is not included in time series due to change in collection methods.
From 2012 onwards the options for the music question have changed.


Table 13: Students who take actions in the home to conserve the environment by state/territories (%)

Actions taken to conserve the environment
2008
2010
2011
2012
ACT
NSW
NT
Qld
SA
Tas
Vic
WA
ACT
NSW
NT
Qld
SA
Tas
Vic
WA
ACT
NSW
NT
Qld
SA
Tas
Vic
WA
ACT
NSW
NT
Qld
SA
Tas
Vic
WA
My household has installed a water tank
30.3
31.3
22.5
51.5
59.8
29.2
36.3
28.0
26.3
36.3
33.2
52.4
60.1
35.7
38.7
24.7
30.4
38.1
18.7
52.7
61.3
39.7
45.1
27.9
27.0
37.2
19.7
58.559.036.3
44.5
28.3
My household has installed a water saving shower head
53.1
48.3
28.7
55.6
41.7
33.0
48.7
36.9
46.4
46.9
36.9
48.6
43.5
32.7
54.4
35.4
45.4
42.7
34.1
50.2
42.4
33.2
49.0
40.2
46.0
40.7
34.7
47.739.530.4
47.2
38.5
I take shorter showers
70.4
66.3
52.8
66.7
64.8
54.0
75.4
63.6
61.7
52.3
49.1
54.9
52.0
47.6
65.4
51.1
52.6
52.6
47.7
53.9
49.7
49.8
57.2
60.4
50.6
49.1
47.4
46.945.548.5
53.9
56.5
I turn off the tap while I brush my teeth
92.3
89.6
81.5
90.2
91.0
81.8
92.9
88.6
91.0
85.3
82.2
87.5
90.0
80.5
90.5
86.3
88.8
86.0
83.3
88.1
89.4
79.8
90.3
88.2
87.5
85.5
75.6
87.089.380.0
89.7
86.3
I put the plug in the sink when washing my hands instead of holding them under running water.
25.9
24.6
20.8
20.0
23.9
23.1
30.5
21.1
I turn off appliances (e.g. TV, computer, gaming consoles) at the power point
44.2
47.5
51.4
48.3
43.6
43.1
44.6
46.0
44.4
51.1
51.5
52.6
50.2
48.1
47.9
49.9
43.0
53.5
47.9
51.048.751.2
51.1
49.5
My household recycles our rubbish
87.6
82.3
52.3
76.3
84.6
78.2
84.2
76.4
89.5
82.0
75.9
76.1
85.2
77.0
83.5
79.8
83.3
84.1
67.6
78.584.377.9
84.4
75.0

Each figure shows the percentage of students who responded 'Yes' relative to the state/territory total.



Your Opinion Analysis


Table 14: Importance of environmental and social issues (median)

Issue
2008
2010
2011
2012
Reducing pollution
659.0
693.0
687.0
681.0
Recycling our rubbish
639.0
657.0
663.0
657.0
Conserving water
793.0
769.0
734.0
701.0
Reducing energy usage (electricity, gas, oil, for heating, lighting, car travel)
635.0
610.0
616.0
610.0
Conserving old growth forests
568.0
539.0
545.0
539.0
Protecting coastal/marine environments
687.0
681.0
681.0
675.0
Having healthy eating habits
781.0
752.0
775.0
775.0
Reducing bullying in schools
617.0
773.0
830.0
882.0
Owning a computer
563.0
598.0
598.0
592.0
Access to the Internet
657.0
719.0
728.0
740.0

0 = Not Very Important and 1000 = Very Important


© Commonwealth of Australia 2008

Unless otherwise noted, content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia Licence together with any terms, conditions and exclusions as set out in the website Copyright notice. For permission to do anything beyond the scope of this licence and copyright terms contact us.