The 2021 Australian Census will be held on Tuesday, 10th August. While the Census provides us with a count of people and dwellings, it has other important uses. These include determining appropriate electoral boundaries and the number of representatives, as well as the allocation of GST funding to the states. While the 2021 Census is…
Articles by Simone Alexander
Simone Alexander is a demographic consultant with more than 20 years of experience working in both the public and private sectors. She uses her expertise to blog about demographic trends, housing and planning issues in Australia’s cities and regions.
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Like many demographers, I looked forward to the December 2020 release of quarterly population data with great interest. After nine months of minimal overseas migration, what effect would this have on population change? More frequent releases of data from the ABS have provided some insights, but this particular release, covering all of 2020 and all components of…
It seems that not a week goes by without reading an article that highlights the sea/tree change phenomenon. The tone of these articles suggests that people are leaving Sydney and Melbourne in such numbers that the streets are devoid of people and life – save the obligatory tumbleweed. Recent ABS data releases on internal migration…
The ABS has recently released new data on the size of Australia’s overseas born communities. At June 2020, there were 7.65 million people in Australia who were born overseas, comprising 29.8% of the population. Where were these people born? What are the fastest-growing communities? What is their age structure? How does this relate to the…
The latest release of regional population data by the ABS showed that the City of Perth recorded the strongest growth of all LGAs in Australia (7.1%). This was an intriguing outcome, and is indicative of an upward shift in population growth in Western Australia (WA) over the last two years. But has this been uniform…
In late March the ABS released the 2020 regional population estimates (ERP). This data shows some signs of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on population trends at a more local level. In this blog I look at Victoria, a state that has recorded substantial growth in recent years. Was this trend sustained in 2019-2020?…
Until very recently the corner store was a ubiquitous presence in Australia’s suburbs, particularly in the more established areas. Many of us can remember a time when we used to buy a small bag of mixed lollies from the corner store on the way home from school. Many years ago, most shopping was done locally,…
Australia is in the fortunate position of having one of the highest life expectancies in the world. A child born in 2019 can expect to live to 82.9 years. Life expectancy is a function of many factors including mortality rates and the quality of the health care system. Although most people are familiar with the…
Where did unemployment increase the most? One of the most profound impacts of the COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns has been the loss of jobs across the economy. This has manifested itself in higher unemployment numbers and rates. Data released by the ABS through the monthly labour force survey is a leading economic indicator, but it…
Australia’s fertility rate continues to fall according to the recently released annual births data by the ABS It confirmed the steady decline in the total fertility rate (TFR) in Australia over the past decade. However, at the same time, the number of births remains at historically high levels. This juxtaposition is a great example of why…