SOCIETY
Population: In 2005 Australia’s population reached 20 million, a major milestone for a country that is underpopulated by world standards. In 2003 (the most recent year for which detailed figures are available), Australia’s population was slightly less than 19.9 million, with an annual growth rate of 1.2 percent. Most of Australia’s residents live in two widely separated coastal regions on the east and southwest coasts. Population density is low, at 2.6 persons per square kilometer. Nevertheless, Australia is one of the most urbanized countries in the world; less than 15 percent of the population lives in rural areas. The most populous state in 2003 was New South Wales, with some 6.6 million residents; the least populous was Tasmania, with approximately 477,000 residents. Population density is highest in the Australian Capital Territory at 137 persons per square kilometer and lowest in the Northern Territory at 0.16 persons per square kilometer. At the end of 2003, 89,437 permanent settlers arrived in Australia, and the country hosted some 22,800 refugees. That same year, 48,148 persons departed Australia permanently. Nearly two out of every seven Australians are foreign-born.
Demography: According to 2005 estimates, 19.8 percent of the population is less than 15 years of age, 67.2 percent is 15–64, and those aged 65 and older account for 12.9 percent of the population. The overall population has 0.99 males for every female. The number of births per 1,000 is 12.3 and the number of deaths, 7.4 per 1,000. The infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births is nearly 4.7. The total fertility rate is nearly 1.8 children born per woman. Life expectancy at birth is estimated at 80.4 years (77.5 years for men, 83.4 years for women).
Ethnic Groups: Caucasians represent 92 percent of the population of Australia. Asians make up 6 percent, and aboriginal peoples account for 2 percent.
Languages: English is the official language of Australia, but 2.8 million people, corresponding to 16 percent of the population, speak another language at home, according to the 2001 census. The most commonly used languages after English are Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic (including Lebanese), Mandarin, and Spanish. In addition, more than 50,000 people speak an indigenous language.
Religion: Roman Catholics represent 27 percent of the population; Anglicans, 21 percent; other Christian denominations, 20 percent; and non-Christian faiths, 5 percent. Australians claiming no religious affiliation represent 16 percent of the population, while another 12 percent choose not to state their religious affiliation.
Education and Literacy: Education is compulsory from six to 16 years of age in the states of South Australia and Tasmania and to 15 years of age elsewhere in Australia. The final two years of secondary school generally take place after the compulsory stage; 75 percent of students attended the final two years of schooling in 2003. Curricula vary from state to state, but as of early 2005 moves were underway to standardize core education areas and the age of commencement of students. These changes are expected to allow students to have access to 13 years of schooling on a comparable basis anywhere in Australia. In 2003 Australia had 9,607 primary and secondary schools (72 percent of which were government schools), with 3.3 million students (2.3 million in government schools) and 229,576 full-time or full-time equivalent teachers (67 percent in government schools). Australia has approximately 40 institutions of higher education. In 2003, 929,952 students attended institutions of higher education (including about 500,000 women), and institutions of higher learning employed 35,867 faculty (about 60 percent male) and 48,568 non-academic staff (about 60 percent female). As of 2005, the nation’s literacy rate was 85 percent.
Health: Australians enjoy one of the highest life expectancies in the world (total population 80.4 years; 77.5 male, 83.4 female) and a well-developed health care system. In 2002–3 total spending on health care (government, private health insurance, and individual outlays) as a proportion of the gross domestic product was 9.5 percent. The Australian government provided 68 percent of total health expenditures in 2002–3, which amounted to US$54.8 billion, or US$2,773 per person. The Australian government funds Medicare, the national health insurance program. Around 40 percent of Australians augment their coverage with private health insurance. States and territories are charged with delivery and management of public health services and with regulating health care providers and facilities. In 2002–3 (the most recent year for which figures are available), Australia had 748 public hospitals with 52,200 beds (or 2.6 beds per 1,000 people), representing about 66 percent of all beds in the hospital sector. Private hospitals in 2002–3 numbered 536. In 2003–4, the health care sector employed 384,000 people, or 4 percent of the workforce; females represented 74 percent of the health care work force.
The leading causes of death in Australia in 2002 were cancer (28 percent) and cardiovascular disease (20 percent). In 2003 an estimated 14,000 Australians were living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS); they represented 0.1 percent of the population. Fewer than 200 Australians died from HIV/AIDS during 2003.
Welfare: Australia has an extensive, multifaceted social welfare system designed to address the educational, health care, housing, and income needs of its citizens. More than 4 million Australians are direct beneficiaries of income support payments. Other social welfare programs include family assistance, youth and student support, child-care support, labor-market assistance, housing assistance (both rental and home ownership), support for people with disabilities, support for caregivers, support for the aged, and retirement planning assistance. Residential facilities for aged persons are funded by various sources, including the government. An array of veterans’ benefits also are provided by the government, including disability compensation (for veterans and their surviving spouses), a veterans’ children education program to provide education allowances and other forms of educational assistance, income support, military compensation and rehabilitation, housing programs, and health care and counseling services.