3311.1 - Demography, New South Wales, 1999  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 14/12/2000   
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MEDIA RELEASE

December 12, 2000
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
172/2000
Rural NSW has higher fertility and more exnuptial births

Women in regional and rural NSW have higher fertility and a higher rate of exnuptial births than those living in Sydney, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

A special analysis of fertility levels in NSW between 1992 and 1999 found that women usually resident in Sydney had lower fertility levels than women in the rest of the State. Seven of the ten lowest fertility Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) in the State were in Sydney, while the ten highest fertility SLAs were in regional and rural areas.

The report also found that births to women usually resident in Sydney were less likely to be exnuptial (22%) than births to women living outside Sydney (36%).

The information is contained in an ABS snapshot of the people of NSW for 1999, which provides a comprehensive demographic overview of New South Wales including commentary and trends on population, births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and migration. Information on population, births and deaths is available down to local government level.

Highlights include:
  • In 1999, 50.3% of the NSW population overall was female. However, when compared to NSW, most coastal Statistical Divisions (SDs) had less than 50% of the population being male while the reverse was true for most inland SDs.
  • The most common causes of death were transport accidents among people aged 1-29 years, malignant neoplasms among people aged 30-74 years and diseases of the circulatory system among people aged 75 years and over.
  • Among migrants to NSW in 1999 the most common countries of birth were New Zealand (18%), China (11%), the United Kingdom (8%), South Africa (6%) and the Philippines (5%).
  • The proportion of people who cohabited before marriage increased with age, from 54% of brides and 52% of grooms aged 20-24 years, to 76% of both brides and grooms aged 45-49 years.

Further details can be found in Demography, New South Wales (cat. no. 3311.1) which is available in all ABS Bookshops A summary of the main features and the special article may be found on this site.