Demographic analysis
Australia’s population continues to grow strongly
The ABS has just released their quarterly update on population growth, Australian Demographic Statistics (3101.0). What does it show?
Who works the most, men or women?
Thinking back to filling in the Census form in 2011, there were two questions on that form which generated the most interest in the general public, and the most discussion in the media. One was Religion, and...
Share of urban development in greenfield versus established areas
We recently had an enquiry from a client in Cardinia regarding the share of development in Melbourne in greenfield versus established areas. Scott and I have spent some time and we have crunched the numbers for...
Home alone
Over a coffee, a mate was recently mulling over her lot as a widowed woman close to retirement age. Apart from the amusing tales she had to tell of rejoining the dating game after a 40 year sabbatical, this...
Kiwi migration to Australia slows. Why?
Last week, Statistics New Zealand released their “International Travel and Migration” statistics for the December 2013 year. Standout figure – a net GAIN (yes gain) of 22,468 migrants to New Zealand compared to...
Who cares about Australian urban research?
That was a key question posed at a plenary session at the recent State of Australian Cities (SOAC) conference in Sydney. My first thought was “I am!” and secondly “my colleagues are!” In fact, .id’s interest in...
What impact do asylum seekers have on Australia’s migration?
There is probably no more contentious issue in Australia at the moment than asylum seekers. We have avoided tackling it on .id’s blog before, simply because it is so controversial, and fraught with political...
Death and life expectancy
Around this time each year, the ABS releases its detailed data on births and deaths in Australia. As we’ve blogged previously, this data is critical for forecasting as it provides the evidence base for small...
Australia’s youngest places
In the previous blog I looked at where the oldest median ages were in Australia. This article looks at the most youthful areas.
How long do I have to live?
Do you want to know how long you’ve got left? Ask a statistician!
What are the demographics of fire-prone areas?
The current bushfire situation in eastern NSW is horrendous, and we wish the affected communities all the best. Serious fires happen every few years in Australia. Tasmania had major fires in January this year,...
Where will the children play?
I recently ran a training session at the City of Bankstown, in Sydney’s south-west. This is a fascinating area, demographically. It is one of the most culturally diverse areas in Australia, with 55% of the...
Marriage and relationships in the Census – Do women prefer educated, high income partners?
There is a theory that, when selecting a man as a long term relationship proposition, women are more likely to look for status and income, and men are more likely to go for looks and youth. While certainly...
When will the age pension be abolished?
Esther’s recent blog on dependency ratios got me thinking. We are moving towards a time when we will have far more non-working population as a proportion than ever before, particularly as the baby boomers age...
Melbourne’s population growth – trends after the Census
Earlier this year the ABS released their 2012 population estimates for local government areas across Australia (Regional Population Growth, ABS Cat. no. 3218.0). This gives us the first glimpse into post 2011...
Perth vs Brisbane – The game of “population growth”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released its latest population summary for Australian States and Territories in their publication Australian Demographic Statistics (Cat No 3101.0) for the...
Who is moving out of coastal areas?
Recently the National Seachange Taskforce released a report about the impact of temporary populations in coastal areas. Central to the report was a survey of non-resident ratepayers, and whether they intend to...
What is Australia’s most typical suburb?
Recently, I did some analysis on what would constitute Australia’s most typical town. While there are many ways you could define this, and it was by no means definitive, I came up with 6 parameters and picked...
What is the most typical Australian town?
If you were picking one town to represent Australia, as a nation, which one would it be? Maybe an iconic Australian location, like Uluru, Byron Bay, Katoomba. Somewhere in the outback like Coober Pedy,...
Part 3: Can I compare SEIFA scores over time?
Since the release of the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas, we have been getting a lot of questions about whether users can compare SEIFA scores over time. It’s a very natural thing to want to do – we all want...
Socio-economic indexes – what are they?
On March 28th, the day before Easter, the ABS released the final dataset derived from the 2011 Census, the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas. Some people may know this better as the “Index of Disadvantage”...
