YEAR OF OCCURRENCE
The majority of this publication contains deaths data based on year of registration. Although most deaths are registered in the year in which they occur, some deaths are not registered until the following year or later.
Deaths data presented by year of occurrence in this publication are therefore considered preliminary and are subject to change as deaths that occurred up to 31 December 2008 but have not yet been registered by this date are registered in subsequent years.
Deaths registered in the same year as they occurred
The likelihood of a death being registered in a year following its occurrence is substantially greater for deaths which occur near the end of the calendar year. Of the 143,900 deaths registered in 2008, 93.9% (135,200 deaths) occurred in 2008 and the remainder (6.1%, or 8,800 deaths) occurred in 2007 or earlier years (the majority of which occurred in December 2007). See paragraphs 27 and 28 of the Explanatory Notes.
Monthly occurrence of deaths
Deaths tend to occur more often in some months than others. Over the period 2005-2007, an average of 135,100 deaths occurred each year in Australia. The largest numbers of deaths on average occurred in the winter months of August (6,500 male deaths and 6,300 female deaths) and July (6,500 male deaths and 6,300 female deaths). In comparison, the smallest numbers of deaths on average (4,900 male deaths and 4,600 female deaths) occurred in the summer month of February (noting that February is the shortest month).
2.13 DEATHS, Month of death-2005-2007: Preliminary(a)
Deaths as a component of population change
Deaths comprise an important component of population change. In 2008, there were 143,900 deaths in Australia. This is roughly half the number the number of births (296,600), resulting in natural increase of 152,700 people. As the population of Australia ages, the number of deaths each year will increase, and the difference between numbers of births and deaths will decrease. Based on Series B of the most recent ABS population projections (
Population Projections, Australia, 2006 to 2101, cat. no. 3222.0), the number of births is projected to remain higher than the number of deaths until 2101.
2.14 COMPONENTS OF POPULATION CHANGE(a) |
|
 | Births(b) | Deaths(b) | Natural increase | Net overseas migration | Population at end of period | Population increase(c) |
| '000 | '000 | '000 | '000 | '000 | '000 | % |
|
| 2004 | 248.6 | 132.4 | 116.2 | 106.4 | 20 252.1 | 240.3 | 1.2 |
| 2005 | 263.4 | 131.4 | 132.0 | 137.0 | 20 544.1 | 291.9 | 1.4 |
| 2006 | r268.5 | r134.5 | r134.0 | r182.2 | r20 873.7 | r329.6 | r1.6 |
| 2007 | r287.0 | r138.9 | r148.1 | r216.2 | r21 237.9 | r364.2 | r1.7 |
| 2008 | p296.6 | p143.9 | p152.7 | p253.4 | p21 644.0 | p406.1 | p1.9 |
|
| p preliminary figure or series subject to revision |
| r revised |
| (a) Calendar year. |
| (b) For 2006 and earlier years, births and deaths in this table are based on year of occurrence, for population estimation purposes. For 2007, a combination of data based on quarter of occurrence (for the March and June quarters) and quarter of registration (for the September and December quarters) is used. Data for 2008 are based on year of registration. Numbers of deaths in this table will therefore differ from data elsewhere in this publication. |
| (c) Population increase will not necessarily equal the sum of natural increase and net overseas migration due to intercensal discrepancy. See Glossary for more information. |
| Source: Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0) |
2.15 Actual and projected births and deaths, Year ended 30 June
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