1303.0 - Discover the ABS, 2010  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 20/05/2010   
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Statistical themes


The ABS provides a comprehensive statistical service relevant to Australia. This service provides timely, accurate and objective statistics for use by government, industry and the community. ABS statistics can be found under the following themes:

EconomyPeople
Environment and energyRegional
Industry

Economy


The ABS collects, compiles and disseminates data on all major economic fields. Government and industry use this economic data to understand trends in the Australian economy, identify drivers of economic growth, evaluate economic performance, and for the formulation and assessment of economic policy.

Refer to Themes for more information.


Environment and energy


A program of environmental statistics was implemented by the ABS in 1991 focusing on compiling, analysing and publishing a wide range of topics for use by the government, industry and the community. It has grown in response to an increasing demand for information linking the relationship between social, environmental and economic statistics. The ABS has adopted a long-term perspective to enable development of a time series that will assist informed decision-making.

Refer to Themes for more information.


Industry


A broad cross-section of Australian industry data is collected on topics including agriculture, construction, transport, tourism and the services industry. New statistical concepts have been developed to measure the changes between consumer and business behaviour and reaction in response to the growth in the global economy which has caused rapid expansion of products and services for consumers and businesses.

Refer to Themes for more information.


People


The Census of Population and Housing held every five years is the principle source of information about Australia’s population. It is instrumental in identifying trends in the Australian population, such as indigenous people, the role of migration in population growth, and issues concerning an ageing population. Population statistics measure the size, growth, composition, geographical distribution and components suggesting change. They also provide background discussion on a wide range of issues concerning the community.

Refer to Themes for more information.


Regional


Australia is a highly urbanised country with about 85% of its population living around 50 km from the coast, but demand for rural and regional data is increasing as the government focuses on issues in those areas. The development of mesh blocks enables improvement of data about regional areas. Combined with a standard coding referencing file, the data is easily integrated between organisations, leading to improved government policy formulation and service delivery.

Refer to Themes for more information.