4119.0.00.001 - Australia's Children, 1998-99  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/08/2000   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

MAIN FINDINGS

This brochure presents a range of indicators of the health and wellbeing of Australia's children (aged under 18). The publication includes tables, graphs and key details of the data. The table below shows State and Territory data for most of the indicators included in the brochure.

KEY STATISTICS BY STATE AND TERRITORY

Units
Reference period
NSW
Vic.
Qld
SA
WA
Tas.
NT
ACT
Aust.
Children under 18
'000
1999
1,581.7
1,140.5
906.1
355.3
480.2
121.6
59.4
79.0
4,724.9
Teenage birth rate (confinements per 1,000 females aged 15-17)




no.
1998
9.2
5.6
12.1
7.0
11.8
14.2
54.5(a)
5.8
9.5
Children in one-parent families
%
1996
16.3
14.9
16.9
17.1
15.8
17.0
18.9
16.2
16.1
Children in one-parent families(b)
%
2006
21.6
20.8
23.4
23.2
21.0
22.7
25.6
22.5
21.9
Children who experienced divorce of parents (per 1,000 children)(c)
no.
1998
8.7
10.4
13.9
12.7
11.0
13.5
8.3
n.p.
10.9
Infant mortality rate (infant deaths per 1,000 live births)
no.
1998
4.3
4.7
6.4
4.0
5.0
5.7
12.4
6.0
5.0
Low birthweight babies-all babies
%
1997
6.1
6.5
6.9
7.0
6.6
5.9(d)
10.2
7.5
6.6
Low birthweight babies-
Indigenous babies
%
1997
12.0
12.2
11.9
16.5
13.7
8.6(d)
16.9
8.6
13.1
Fully immunised children aged
1 year
%
1999
84.2
87.7
88.4
89.0
86.2
87.0
82.9
89.0
86.5
Children under 5 using child care(e)
'000
1999
293.0
207.2
156.9
65.9
72.3
18.6
9.0
14.8
837.7
Children under 5: median hours per week in child care(e)
no.
1999
13
12
15
12
10
9
25
18
13
Couple families with neither parent employed(e)
%
1999
8.5
8.1
8.1
8.0
7.0
13.9
**2.0
5.3
8.2
One-parent families with parent not employed(e)
%
1999
52.3
53.7
49.9
52.4
55.1
52.4
42.2
34.6
52.1
Couples with children who rented their homes(e)
%
1997-8
25.8
16.7
23.2
15.7
21.0
17.1
37.6
33.3
21.8
One-parent families who rented their homes(e)
%
1997-8
61.2
59.5
64.3
70.0
57.8
61.6
41.7
64.9
61.9
n.p. Not published.
** The estimate has a relative standard error greater than 50%.
(a) Indigenous confinements accounted for 80% of the total.
(b) Estimates based on Series C projections.
(c) Divorce figures relate to State or Territory of registration which is based on the location of the Family Court where the divorce is granted and registered. These figures can give a biased view of divorces in States and Territories. Due to the large number of divorces granted in the ACT to usual residents of another State, the rates for the ACT are not representative of the ACT population and hence are not published.
(d) Data are incomplete.
(e) NT estimates relate to predominantly urban areas only.


Information in this table is taken from the following sources:

Population by Age and Sex, Australian States and Territories, June 1999 (cat. no. 3201.0)
Unpublished data, Births
Unpublished data, 1996 Census of Population and Housing
Unpublished data, Population Projections
Children, Australia: A Social Report, 1999 (cat. no. 4119.0)
Unpublished data, Marriages and Divorces
Deaths, Australia, 1998 (cat. no. 3302.0)
1999 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, National Perinatal Statistics Unit, Australia's Mothers and Babies, AIHW, Sydney
1999 Communicable Diseases Intelligence, National Centre for Disease Control, Department of Health and Aged Care, Vol. 23 (11)
Child Care, Australia, 1999 (cat. no. 4402.0)
Unpublished data, 1999 Child Care Survey
Unpublished data, June 1999 Labour Force Survey
Unpublished data, 1997–8 Survey of Income and Housing Costs