| December 14,1998 | Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST) | 140/1998 |
Australia in Profile: A regional analysis of NSW - ABS
A major new social report, Australia in Profile: a Regional Analysis,released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, uses results from the 1996 Census of Population and Housing to describe some of the major differences in the characteristics and well-being of people living in different parts of Australia. The report enables comparisons of NSW regions with regions across other States and Territories
This report capitalises on the strength of the Census which is to provide detailed information for small geographic areas. The report also 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 NSW and Australia. At a glance NSW can be compared to the rest of the nation.
Some of the main findings for NSW in the report are:
- Camden was the fastest growing area in NSW with 7.1% population growth between 1991 and 1996. Outside of Sydney the region with fastest growing population was Port Stephens (3.0%).
- In 1996, 81% of overseas born people lived in capital cities compared to 63% of Australia's total population. Sydney was ranked the highest of all population centres with 32% of residents born overseas. Some 6% of Sydney's population are recent migrants who have arrived in the last five years.
- The three regions with the highest proportions of the population in Australia speaking a language other than English at home were Auburn (67%), Fairfield (66%) and Canterbury (65%), all in Sydney.
- The Mid-North Coast of NSW had the highest unemployment rate (16.8%) in the State. As a whole, Sydney Statistical Division had the lowest unemployment rate with 7.4%, however, several areas of Sydney such as Fairfield (16.2%), Auburn (14.3%), and Canterbury (12.1%) had high levels of unemployment. The lowest unemployment rate was in Mosman (3.2%).
- A total of 13.4% of people in the Sydney held a degree or higher qualification compared to 5.3% on the Mid North Coast and 10.9% for NSW as a whole.
- The Far West of NSW had the highest level of owner occupied dwellings (78.1%), and the highest level of outright ownership without a mortgage (62.5%) in NSW. The regions with the highest proportions of public housing were Sydney Centre (16.5%) and Campbelltown (16.0%). Sydney Centre also had the highest proportion of persons living in homeless hostels (0.6%) and low cost boarding houses and private hotels (1.4%).
- Some regions in Sydney were ranked among the most advantaged in Australia (such as Ku-ring-gai, Mosman and Woollahra), while others were among the most disadvantaged regions (Fairfield).
- At $724 per week, household income per capita in North Sydney was more than twice the national figure of $310.
Australia in Profile: a Regional Analysis (cat. no. 2032.0) is available from ABS bookshops. Other Media Releases which look Nationally and at individual States and Territories are also available from this site.
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