On this page:
Social and Demographic Statistics
Australian Social Trends, Sep 2010
Cultural Funding by Government, Australia, 2008-09
Health Services: Patient Experiences in Australia, 2009
Mental Health of Young People, 2007
Migration, Australia, 2008-09
Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2009
Schools, Australia, 2009


SOCIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS

Australian Social Trends, Sep 2010 (cat. no. 4102.0) - released 29/09/10

Australian Social Trends is a quarterly publication which draws together a wide range of statistics, from the ABS and other official sources, to provide a picture of Australian society and how it is changing over time.

The latest edition features six articles:

• Holidaying abroad - There were a record 6.8 million short-term departures by Australians in 2009-10, equivalent to 31 trips for every 100 Australians.
• New Zealanders in Australia - There were 529,200 New Zealand-born people living in Australia in 2009, up by 89% over the last two decades. In 2006, it was estimated that for every 100 New Zealanders in New Zealand, there were 15 New Zealand-born people living in Australia. In the same period, 16% of New Zealand-born people lived in Victoria. This was behind Queensland and New South Wales (38% and 27% respectively) but ahead of Western Australia (12%).
• Parental divorce or death during childhood - Compared with people whose parents did not divorce or separate, those who did, were less likely to finish school, more likely to enter a de facto relationship at a younger age, and of those who married, they were less likely to remain married.
• The city and the bush: Indigenous wellbeing across Remoteness Areas - While there have been improvements in a range of indicators for Indigenous Australians in recent years, such as school completion rates and employment, inequalities remain evident between Remoteness Areas.
• Older people and the labour market - Just over one-third of all people aged 55 years and over (or 1.9 million people) were in the labour force in 2009-10, with this participation rate increasing strongly over the past decade.
• Australian workers: Educational and workplace training - The labour force is becoming increasingly skilled with 66% of workers having a non-school qualification in 2009, up from 59% in 2001. One third of people aged 25-34 had a bachelor degree or higher, making this group the most qualified.

To find out more, please visit the publication.
Cultural Funding by Government, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 4183.0) - released 18/08/10

This publication contains estimates of Australian public funding for arts and cultural activities, facilities and services across three levels of government for 2008-09 and 2007-08. Funding data in this publication are aligned, where possible, with the categories specified in the Industry Classification of the Australian Culture and Leisure Classifications, Second edition (cat. no. 4902.0), released in 2008.

Total government funding for cultural activities was $6,772.5m in 2008-09, an increase of 7.8% on 2007-08 ($6,281.1m). The Australian Government contributed $2,584.5m (38%) to total cultural funding while the state and territory governments contributed $3,033.7m (45%) and local governments provided $1,154.2m (17%).

Of the funding provided by state and territory governments in 2008-09, most was directed to heritage activities including museums, nature parks and libraries. This was especially the case for the Northern Territory (88% of state and territory cultural funding for heritage activities), Tasmania (87%) and New South Wales (85%). In Victoria, the corresponding figure was 71%. The remaining cultural funding from state and territory governments was directed to arts activities, including literature, music performance and performing arts.

A majority of local government cultural funding (63%) was allocated to libraries in 2008-09 ($727.5m). Most public libraries are funded at the local government level, except in Tasmania, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. Of states mainly funded at local government level for libraries, South Australia had the highest proportion of local government funding for libraries in 2008-09 (77%), followed by Western Australia (71%), New South Wales (64%), Queensland (60%) and Victoria (59%).

To find out more, including information about funding per person, recurrent and capital expenditure, and other breakdowns by level of government, please visit the publication.
Health Services: Patient Experiences in Australia, 2009 (cat. no. 4839.0.55.001) - released 30/07/10

The Patient Experience Survey asked people about a range of health services they may have used for their own health in the past 12 months, and the experiences they had with each service. Across Australia, approximately four out of five people aged 15 years and over had seen a general practitioner at least once in the year prior to the survey (around 81% or 14 million people).

Women in every age group were more likely to have seen a GP than men, particularly in the younger age groups. Overall, 86% of Australian women had visited a general practitioner in the last 12 months compared with 75% of men. By the time people reached the age of 65, rates of visiting a GP were well over 90% for both men and women.

In general, people living in major cities were more likely to have seen a GP (82%) than those living in outer regional or remote areas (78%). Across the States and Territories, people living in the ACT were the most likely to have seen a general practitioner (87%) while people living in the NT (76%) and Victoria (79%) were the least likely.

To find out more, including information about barriers to health services, hospital admissions, visits to emergency departments, and communication with health providers, please visit the publication.
Mental Health of Young People, 2007 (cat. no. 4840.0.55.001) - released 19/07/10

This article provides a brief overview of the mental health of young people aged 16-24 years in Australia. It includes information on the prevalence of mental disorders for people in this age group, as well as their socioeconomic characteristics, level of impairment and the health service usage of young people with mental illness. Data are sourced from the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (SMHWB).

In 2007, approximately three-quarters (76%) of all young people assessed their own mental health as excellent or very good. However, around one-quarter of all young people had a mental disorder in the previous year (approximately 26% or 671,000 young people). The rate of mental disorders for people living in private dwellings gradually decreased from 26% in the 16-24 years age group to 22% in the 45-54 years age group, after which it declined more rapidly to 6% of those aged 75-85. Around one-quarter of people with a mental disorder in each age group had a severe level of impairment associated with their disorder, with the remainder having a mild or moderate level.

Young women were more likely than young men to have had any mental disorder in the year prior to the interview (374,800 or 30% compared with 296,300 or 23% respectively). Young women were also around twice as likely as young men to have an Affective disorder (8% compared with 4%) or an Anxiety disorder (22% compared with 9%). Substance Use disorders, involving harmful use of, or dependency on, alcohol or other drugs, were more common in young men (16%) than in young women (10%).

To find out more, including information about health risks and social characteristics, participation in education and employment, and use of mental health services, please visit the publication.
Migration, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 3412.0) - released 29/07/10

This publication brings together statistics on international migration into and out of Australia, interstate migration within Australia and information on overseas-born residents of Australia. Australia's migration is described in the context of the Government's migration program and in comparison with international migration experienced by other countries.

In 2008–09, the preliminary estimate of net overseas migration (NOM) was the highest on record for a financial year at 298,900 persons, representing 65% of Australia's population growth for the year. For the year ended 30 June 2009, all states and territories experienced positive NOM. Net overseas migration was the major component of population growth in Victoria at 70% (81,200 persons).

During 2008–09, there were an estimated 359,900 interstate movements, a similar number of movements to the previous year (360,800 movements). Over the last decade, Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria were the only states or territories to record average annual net gains due to interstate migration (26,700, 1,200 and 80 persons respectively).

To find out more, including state and territory level breakdowns by age and country of birth, please visit the publication.
Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2009 (cat. no. 3235.0) - released 05/08/10

This publication contains final estimates of the resident populations of areas of Australia as at 30 June 2004 and preliminary estimates as at 30 June 2009, based on Statistical Local Areas (SLAs), Local Government Areas (LGAs), Statistical Subdivisions (SSDs), Statistical Divisions (SDs), and states and territories, according to the 2009 edition of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC).

The estimated resident population of Australia at 30 June 2009 was 21.96 million people. Since June 2004, the Australian population has increased by 1.83 million people or 9.1% (an average of 1.8% per year). At June 2009, just over one-fifth (20.5%) of Australia's population resided within the Sydney SD, down from 20.9% in 2004. Melbourne SD had the largest growth of any capital city SD in the five years to June 2009, gaining 369,500 people.

The estimated resident population of Victoria at 30 June 2009 was 5.44 million people, increasing by 461,800 people (9.3%, or 1.8% per year on average) since 30 June 2004. The Melbourne SD was home to about three-quarters (73.4%, or 4.00 million people) of Victoria's population in June 2009. In the five years to June 2009, the population in the Melbourne SD increased by 369,500 (10.2%) and in regional Victoria by 92,200 (6.8%).

At 30 June 2009, the median age (the age at which half the population is older and half is younger) of Victorian residents was 36.9 years - 35.9 years for males and 37.8 years for females. The LGAs with the highest median ages in June 2009 were Queenscliffe (B) (54.0 years), Strathbogie (S) (48.3) and Yarriambiack (48.0), all in regional Victoria. The LGA with the lowest median age was Melbourne (C) (27.7 years), followed by Melton (S) (31.6) and Wyndham (C) (31.8) which are located on Melbourne's growth fringes.

To find out more, including LGA breakdowns by sex ratio, children under 15 years, working aged people, and people over 65 years, please visit the publication.
Schools, Australia, 2009 (cat. no. 4221.0) - released 06/07/10

This publication contains statistics on school, students and teaching staff involved in the provision or administration of primary and secondary education, in government and non-government schools for all Australian states and territories. Many of the statistical tables include selected time series.

The number of schools in Australia has decreased over the past 10 years from 9,587 schools in 1999, to 9,529 schools in 2009. This represented a decrease of 165 government schools, and an increase of 4 Catholic schools, and 103 independent schools.

While the number of schools has decreased, the number of students has increased over the past decade. There were around 3,484,700 students in 2009, an increase of 230,300 students since 1999. Students enrolled in government schools accounted for 11% (26,200) of the increase in full-time student numbers, while students in non-government schools accounted for 89% (208,400) of the increase since 1999.

To find out more, including information about Indigenous students, full-time equivalent teaching staff by sex and type and school, and ratio of students to teaching staff, please visit the publication.

Previous Page

Next Page