1300.1 - New South Wales Year Book, 2001  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 03/04/2001   
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MEDIA RELEASE

April 3, 2001
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
33/2001
Statistics that tell us the way we are in NSW

A wide range of summary statistics for New South Wales were released today in the 2001 edition of the New South Wales Year Book, published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The New South Wales Acting Regional Director of the ABS, Mr Geoff Smith, said the New South Wales Year Book provided a comprehensive statistical overview of aspects of the economic and social conditions in the State of NSW.

"It's a terrific record of how we are," he said. "New features in this 81st edition of the Year Book include an Industry Overview which provides a broad picture on all industry sectors in NSW.

"The inclusion of a new Communication and Information Technology chapter emphasises the importance of information technology in our society as well as the growing range of statistics available on this topic.

"Data from a 1998 NSW survey of home security precautions have been included in the Law and Order chapter. The Historical Series Tables have been expanded to include two important economic indicators - the Consumer Price Index and labour force status."

Some key facts from the New South Wales Year Book include:
  • The median age of all mothers who gave birth in 1999 was 29.6 years, compared with 28.2 years in 1989;
  • The median age at first marriage for brides and bridegrooms in 1999 was 26.3 years and 28.1 years respectively, the highest ages ever recorded;
  • In June 1999, 49% of NSW children under 12 years of age had formal and/or informal child care arrangements (520,700 children);
  • Average weekly expenditure on recreation by households in NSW was $91.63, equivalent to 12% of average weekly expenditure on goods and services;
  • Non-government schools had a higher apparent retention rate (82%) than government schools (61%) in 1999;
  • In June 2000, 43% of people in NSW had private health insurance for hospital coverage, compared to 31% in June 1999;
  • A total of 587 persons were killed on NSW roads during 1999-2000, an increase of 29 fatalities (5%) from 1998-99;
  • Employment in the NSW coal industry fell by 19% from 12,119 in 1998 to 9,763 in 1999;
  • At 30 June 1999 there were 6,400 computing services businesses in NSW compared with 4,100 at 30 June 1996.

Further details can be found in New South Wales Year Book 2001 (cat. no. 1300.1) available in ABS Bookshops in all capital cities. The main features of the publication are available on this site.

If you wish to purchase a copy of this publication, contacdt the ABS Bookshop in your capital city.