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CensusAtSchool home page
 National Time Series Tables
These tables compare CensusAtSchool data from 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011. 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.
Participation Analysis
Table 1: Participation in the CensusAtSchool questionnaire by sex (%)
| Sex | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Male | 46.1 | 49.2 | 47.4 | 46.7 |
| Female | 53.9 | 50.8 | 52.6 | 53.3 |
| Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Table 2: Participation in the CensusAtSchool questionnaire by state/territory (count and %)
| State/Territory | 2006 count | 2006 % | 2008 count | 2008 % | 2010 count | 2010 % | 2011 count | 2011 % |
| ACT | 4,027 | 3.6 | 638 | 1.4 | 509 | 2.3 | 865 | 3.4 |
| NSW | 28,494 | 25.4 | 13,514 | 30.6 | 5,742 | 25.7 | 5,923 | 23.4 |
| NT | 756 | 0.7 | 178 | 0.4 | 214 | 1.0 | 390 | 1.5 |
| Qld | 13,237 | 11.8 | 4,671 | 10.6 | 3,178 | 14.2 | 5,351 | 21.1 |
| SA | 11,901 | 10.6 | 6,745 | 15.3 | 2,453 | 11.0 | 2,739 | 10.8 |
| Tas | 8,049 | 7.2 | 3,249 | 7.4 | 1,506 | 6.8 | 1,543 | 6.1 |
| Vic | 30,306 | 27.0 | 9,534 | 21.6 | 5,787 | 25.9 | 5,392 | 21.3 |
| WA | 15,403 | 13.7 | 5,660 | 12.8 | 2,930 | 13.1 | 3,104 | 12.3 |
| Total | 112,173 | 100.0 | 44,189 | 100.1 | 22,319 | 100.0 | 25,307 | 99.9 |
Your Details Analysis
Table 3: Birth Months (%)
| Month | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2011 |
| January | 8.5 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 8.8 |
| February | 7.9 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.0 |
| March | 8.6 | 8.6 | 9.0 | 8.8 |
| April | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.0 |
| May | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.5 |
| June | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 8.2 |
| July | 8.5 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 8.0 |
| August | 8.5 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 8.7 |
| September | 8.6 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 8.7 |
| October | 8.7 | 8.6 | 8.6 | 8.6 |
| November | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| December | 8.1 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 7.8 |
| Total | 99.9 | 100.1 | 100.0 | 100.1 |
In 2006, 0.08% of students responded "Unsure" for their birth month. This option was not included after 2006.
Table 4: Place of Birth (%)
| Place of Birth | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2011 |
| ACT | 1.5 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 2.7 |
| NSW | 24.0 | 27.8 | 24.0 | 22.5 |
| NT | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
| QLD | 10.5 | 9.3 | 12.2 | 16.6 |
| SA | 9.9 | 13.5 | 9.9 | 9.6 |
| Tas | 6.3 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 5.2 |
| Vic | 24.2 | 19.5 | 22.8 | 19.6 |
| WA | 11.8 | 10.8 | 11.1 | 10.3 |
| Other Australian Territories | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Overseas | 10.7 | 10.5 | 11.0 | 11.9 |
| Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Your Attributes Analysis
Table 5: Eye colour (%)
| Eye colour | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Blue | 32.8 | 31.9 | 32.7 | 32.0 |
| Brown | 36.4 | 38.0 | 37.7 | 38.3 |
| Green | 10.4 | 9.9 | 9.8 | 9.7 |
| Grey | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| Hazel | 16.1 | 15.5 | 15.5 | 15.4 |
| Other | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.1 | 100.0 |
Your Languages Analysis
Table 6: Number of spoken languages by sex (%)
| Number of languages | 2008 | 2010 | 2011 |
Males | Females | Males | Females | Males | Females |
| 1 | 74.6 | 73.5 | 72.1 | 69.2 | 70.3 | 67.9 |
| 2 | 19.6 | 20.6 | 20.4 | 23.1 | 21.7 | 24.5 |
| 3 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.5 |
| 4 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| 5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| 6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| Total | 99.9 | 100.0 | 99.9 | 99.9 | 99.9 | 100.0 |
2006 questionnaire did not include a question regarding the number of languages spoken.
Table 7: Spoken languages (%)
| Language | 2006 | 2010 | 2011 |
| English | 89.1 | 89.1 | 89.2 |
| Aboriginal English | 0.7 |  | |
| Afrikaans | 0.2 | | |
| Albanian | 0.1 | | |
| Amharic | 0.1 | | |
| Arabic | 0.2 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
| Arabic (incl. Lebanese) | 0.6 | | |
| Armenian | 0.0 | | |
| Assyrian (incl. Aramaic) | 0.2 | | |
| Auslan | 0.0 | | |
| Australian Indigenous Languages (incl. Kriol) | 0.5 | | |
| Bengali | 0.1 | | |
| Bosnian | 0.1 | | |
| Cantonese | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| Chinese other than Cantonese or Mandarin | 0.5 | | |
| Croatian | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| 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 |
| Greek | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Hakka | 0.1 | | |
| Hindi | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Hokkien | 0.0 | | |
| Hungarian | 0.0 | | |
| Indonesian | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Italian | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Japanese | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Khmer | 0.2 | | |
| Korean | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Lao | 0.1 | | |
| Macedonian | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Malay | 0.1 | | |
| Maltese | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Mandarin | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Maori (New Zealand) | 0.1 | | |
| Middle Eastern and North African languages | 0.0 | | |
| Netherlandic | 0.0 | | |
| Oceanian | 0.0 | | |
| Papuan Languages | 0.0 | | |
| Perisan | 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 | | |
| Serbian | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 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 |
| Swahili | 0.0 | | |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| 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 |
| Ukrainian | 0.0 | | |
| Urdu | 0.1 | | |
| Vietnamese | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| 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 |
| Total | 100.3 | 99.8 | 100.0 |
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 8: Access to the Internet at home (count and %)
| Access to the internet | 2006 count | 2006 % | 2008 count | 2008 % | 2010 count | 2010 % | 2011 count | 2011 % |
| Broadband connection | 59,638 | 53.2 | 32,187 | 72.8 | 17,504 | 78.4 | 19,780 | 78.2 |
| Dial-up connection | 33,212 | 29.6 | 5,382 | 12.2 | 1,318 | 5.9 | 1,144 | 4.5 |
| I cannot access the Internet at home | 15,473 | 13.8 | 3,894 | 8.8 | 1,419 | 6.4 | 1,328 | 5.2 |
| Other (includes Internet access through mobile phones) | 3,850 | 3.4 | 2,726 | 6.2 | 2,078 | 9.3 | 3,055 | 12.1 |
| Total | 112,173 | 100.0 | 44,189 | 100.0 | 22,319 | 100.0 | 25,307 | 100.0 |
Table 9: Favourite takeaway foods (%)
| takeaway food | 2010 | 2011 |
| None | 1.4 | 1.5 |
| Chicken (e.g. BBQ chicken) | 7.8 | 7.2 |
| Chips/Fries | 16.6 | 15.8 |
| Fish (e.g. Fish and Chips) | 7.5 | 7.9 |
| Fruit/Fruit Salad | 2.2 | 2.6 |
| Hamburgers | 11.4 | 10.6 |
| Kebabs/Wraps | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| Noddle dishes | 4.0 | 4.4 |
| Pies/Pasties | 3.1 | 2.7 |
| Pizza/Pasta | 22.0 | 22.7 |
| Rice dishes (e.g. Sushi) | 4.6 | 5.4 |
| Rolls/Sandwiches | 2.1 | 2.4 |
| Salads | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Other | 6.4 | 6.7 |
| Total | 100.1 | 100.1 |
2006 and 2008 data is not included in time series due to change in collection methods.
Table 10: What students had for breakfast (%)
| Breakfast foods | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Did not eat breakfast | 12.8 | 10.8 | 13.5 | 13.8 |
| Bread or bread product | 32.2 | 30.4 | 27.4 | 26.9 |
| Breakfast bar/Snack bar or pack | 3.5 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Cereal or cereal product (eg. noodles) | 50.5 | | | |
| Breakfast cereal | | 47.3 | 41.3 | 41.1 |
| Noodles/rice | | 2.8 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
| Meat or meat product (eg. sausage) | 4.0 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 2.9 |
| Milk or milk product (eg. yoghurt) | 19.6 | 17.3 | 13.1 | 13.1 |
| Lollies/potato chips | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
| Soft drink | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.9 |
| Tea/coffee | 9.8 | 9.1 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| Baked beans/spaghetti | | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| Eggs (eg. omelette, fried eggs, scrambled eggs) | | 6.0 | 4.8 | 5.7 |
| Fruit/Fruit juice (eg. fruit salad, fruit smoothie) | | 11.3 | 8.6 | 8.2 |
| Other | | 9.5 | 8.5 | 8.9 |
Columns may add to more than 100% because respondents were able to select more than one breakfast food from the list.
Table 11: Hours of sleep on a school night by year level (mean and median)
| Year level | 2008 mean | 2008 median | 2010 mean | 2010 median | 2011 mean | 2011 median |
| Year 4 or below | 9.6 | 10.0 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 9.4 | 10.0 |
| Year 5 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 9.4 | 10.0 |
| Year 6 | 9.4 | 10.0 | 9.3 | 10.0 | 9.2 | 9.0 |
| Year 7 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 9.0 |
| Year 8 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 9.0 | 8.5 | 9.0 |
| Year 9 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 8.0 |
| Year 10 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Year 11 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.7 | 8.0 |
| Year 12 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 8.0 |
| Other | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 8.0 |
| Overall | 8.9 | 9.0 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 9.0 |
 Table 12: Favourite sport by sex (%)
| Sport or Activity | 2008 males | 2008 females | 2010 males | 2010 females | 2011 males | 2011 females |
| Athletics | 1.7 | 3.5 | 2.1 | 4.1 | 2.1 | 4.1 |
| Baseball/Softball | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
| Basketball | 7.8 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 7.0 | 8.1 | 6.9 |
| Bowling | 1.3 | 1.0 | | | | |
| Cricket | 6.4 | 0.8 | 6.2 | 0.7 | 5.6 | 0.6 |
| Cycling | 2.9 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.8 |
| Dancing | 0.8 | 14.7 | 0.6 | 14.8 | 1.0 | 15.3 |
| Football* | 29.5 | 5.4 | | | | |
| Football (AFL) | | | 18.0 | 1.4 | 15.6 | 1.1 |
| Football (Rugby League) | | | 8.9 | 1.2 | 9.4 | 1.1 |
| Football (Rugby Union) | | | 3.0 | 0.3 | 3.9 | 0.2 |
| Football (Soccer) | | | 17.6 | 8.0 | 17.3 | 7.0 |
| Golf | 2.0 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 0.3 |
| Gymnastics | 0.5 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 4.2 |
| Hockey* | | | 2.3 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| 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 |
| Netball | 0.2 | 22.3 | 0.2 | 21.6 | 0.4 | 22.7 |
| 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 |
| Swimming | 3.3 | 8.5 | 3.2 | 9.3 | 4.2 | 9.4 |
| Table Tennis | 1.6 | 0.7 | | | | |
| Tennis | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| Walking/Hiking | 1.2 | 1.9 | | | | |
| Other activities/sports | 13.0 | 10.9 | 9.3 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 10.8 |
| None | 2.3 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
| Total | 100.4 | 100.2 | 100.2 | 100.2 | 100.2 | 99.9 |
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 13: 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.
 Table 14: Students who take actions in the home to conserve the environment by state (%)
| Actions taken to conserve water | 2008 | 2010 | 2011 |
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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Each figure shows the percentage of students who responded 'Yes' relative to the state/territory total.
Your Opinion Analysis
 Table 15: Importance of environmental and social issues (median)
| Issue | 2008 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Reducing pollution | 659 | 693 | 687 |
| Recycling our rubbish | 639 | 657 | 663 |
| Conserving water | 793 | 769 | 734 |
| Reducing energy usage (electricity, gas, oil, for heating, lighting, car travel) | 635 | 610 | 616 |
| Conserving old growth forests | 568 | 539 | 545 |
| Protecting coastal/marine environments | 687 | 681 | 681 |
| Having healthy eating habits | 781 | 752 | 775 |
| Reducing bullying in schools | 617 | 773 | 830 |
| Owning a computer | 563 | 598 | 598 |
| Access to the Internet | 657 | 719 | 728 |
0 = Not Very Important and 1000 = Very Important
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This page last updated 6 December 2011 |
