- About this Release
- Victorians continue to delay marriage, children and death - ABS (Media Release)
|
| December 18, 1998 | Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST) | 152/98 |
Victorians continue to delay marriage, children and death - ABS
Victoria recorded the lowest marriage rate this century according to the publication, Demography, Victoria 1997, released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Demography Victoria presents a comprehensive description of the demographic structure of the State by drawing on 1997 registrations of births, deaths, marriages and divorces.
Highlights include:
Population
- Victoria recorded a population growth rate of 1.0% in 1997 which was just below the national growth rate of 1.1%.
- There was a net population gain from overseas migration of 19,774 persons but a net population loss from interstate migration of 2,700 persons. The net loss due to interstate migration continues to decrease from the high of 28,718 recorded in 1993.
Births
- In 1997 there were 60,704 births registered to mothers usually resident in Victoria. Age-specific birth rates indicate that increasing numbers of women are postponing childbirth. This is reflected in the increasing median age of mothers of 30.0 years in 1997, compared to 28.2 years in 1987.
- The proportion of ex-nuptial births increased slightly from 1996, and is now 22.3% of all births compared to 13.8% in 1987. However, for 87.5% of these births, paternity was acknowledged, up from 74.5% a decade ago.
Deaths
- There were 33,190 deaths of Victorian residents registered in 1997. The standardised death rate for Victoria was 6.2 per 1000 population. The median age at death rose for both males (from 71.9 years in 1987 to 74.7 years in 1997) and females (from 79.0 years in 1987 to 81.4 years in 1997). These were the second highest recorded, in 1997, for men and women across all Australian States and Territories.
- The leading causes of death were malignant neoplasms (cancer) and heart disease which accounted for 27.2% and 28.1% of deaths respectively.
Marriages and Divorces
- There were 25, 456 marriages registered in Victoria, a slight decrease of 2.4% over 1996. The 1997 crude marriage rate, at 5.5 per 1,000 population, was the lowest rate recorded this century with the highest rate being 12.1 per 1,000 population in 1942 during World War II.
- The median age at marriage has been increasing steadily for several years for both men and women and in 1997 stood at 29.6 years of age for the bridegroom and 27.5 years of age for the bride.
- There were 12, 463 divorces granted in Victoria in 1997, a 0.2% decrease over 1996.
Demography, Victoria, 1997 (cat. no. 3311.2) is available from ABS bookshops. A summary of the publication may be found on this site.
|
|
Print Page
Print All