FEATURE ARTICLE: NATIONAL REGIONAL PROFILE


REGIONAL DATA MADE EASY!

If you are looking for data for your region, then the National Regional Profile is a great place to start. The latest National Regional Profile (NRP) was released to the ABS website on 22 November 2010 and contains data snapshots for over 2,000 regions across Australia. Using a Google Maps interface, NRP allows users to find updated profiles of Local Government Area (LGA) and other types of regions across South Australia from an easy to use map or list.

What is available?

Each regional profile has a range of data from the ABS and other sources organised into 'economy', 'population/people', 'industry', and 'environment/energy' headings. This latest addition of the NRP includes new data items for the first time such as tourist accommodation establishments, Baby Bonus and Family Tax Benefit recipients.

Some of the other data available includes: estimates of unemployment, estimated residential population, building approvals, and many more. Data are presented as a five year time series, where available, with data for individual regions available in web pages and Excel spreadsheets. Data for all regions are available in SuperTABLE data cubes and in a single .csv file.

The data are presented for all years on common boundaries, making it easy to compare data over time.


How to access and navigate the NRP

The NRP is an easy to use one-stop-shop that allows users to find their region of interest through familiar features like an address search box, or by using the map, or by picking a region from lists. The map and lists are interactive, and users can toggle between a map/list of LGAs and a map/list of Statistical Local Areas (SLAs). Users can access the National Regional Profile 2005-2009 from the ABS Home page or directly from this link: NRP Entry Page.

Help using the NRP is available from the map page and includes advice on comparing data across many regions.


Examples

In very little time at all it is possible to create a broad picture of several Local Government Areas (LGAs) in South Australia.

Spotlight on the LGAs of Coober Pedy, Holdfast Bay and Salisbury

Coober Pedy

As at 30 June 2009, an estimated 1,913 persons lived in the LGA of Coober Pedy, 59.1% were males and 40.9% were females. Approximately one out of every 3 persons (36.5%) was aged 55 years and older and for the year ended 31 December 2008, the LGA had a fertility rate of 2.2.

From an economic perspective, wage and salary earners received an average income of $34,637 in the year ended 30 June 2008 with females accounting for 52.4% of all wage and salary earners. Almost one quarter (23.9%) of wage and salary earners were employed as Intermediate Clerical, Sales and Service Workers. In the June quarter 2009, an estimated 11.1% of the population were unemployed and 144 persons (7.5%) were in receipt of Family Tax Benefit at 30 June 2009.

Almost three quarters (73.5%) of the cars in the LGA were over ten years old.

Holdfast Bay

As at 30 June 2009, an estimated 35,683 persons lived in the LGA of Holdfast Bay, 47.2% were males and 52.8% were females. Approximately one out of every 3 persons (35.6%) was aged 55 years and older and for the year ended 31 December 2008, the LGA had a fertility rate of 1.4.

From an economic perspective, wage and salary earners received an average income of $44,044 in the year ended 30 June 2008 with 23.0% of wage and salary earners employed as professionals. In the June quarter 2009, an estimated 3.3% of the population were unemployed and 1,932 persons (5.4%) were in receipt of Family Tax Benefit at 30 June 2009.

The average value of private sector houses in 2008-09 was $272,800 and almost half (47.2%) of the cars in the LGA were over ten years old. Visitors to the LGA had a total of thirty six hotel, motel and serviced apartment establishments to choose from.

Salisbury

As at 30 June 2009, an estimated 130,022 persons lived in the LGA of Salisbury, 49.6% were males and 50.4% were females. Less than one in four persons (22.4%) was aged 55 years and older and one fifth of the LGA's population (20.1%) were children (i.e., less than 15 years old). For the year ended 31 December 2008, the LGA had a fertility rate of 2.1.

From an economic perspective, wage and salary earners received an average income of $37,444 in the year ended 30 June 2008 with 18.6% of wage and salary earners employed as Intermediate Clerical, Sales and Service Workers and a further 16.3% employed as Labourers and related workers. In the June quarter 2009, an estimated 7.7% of the population were unemployed and 14,613 persons (11.2%) were in receipt of Family Tax Benefit at 30 June 2009.

The average value of a private sector houses in 2008-09 was $176,100 and more than half (54.4%) of the cars in the LGA were over ten years old.


Future releases and more information

The next NRP is expected to be released in about April 2011, and will contain further updates to important series such as births and deaths.

For further information on the NRP please contact Andrew Stidston (08) 8237 7668 andrew.stidston@abs.gov.au or Andrea Woods (08) 8237 7350 andrea.woods@abs.gov.au.