Women in Australia
2004

CONTENTS	1. Population Characteristics	4. Working Life	7. Management and Decision Making
	2. Family and Living Arrangements	5. Economic Resources	8. Crime and Safety
GLOSSARY	3. Health	6. Education and Training	9. Selected Population Groups

Chapter 1. Population Characteristics

Australia's population is growing both in size and ageing. In June 2003, the Australian population had increased by 240,500 people over the previous twelve months reaching a total of 19,881,500. The proportions of males and females are roughly equal with slightly more females overall (in 2003, just over 50 per cent of the population).¹

Median Ages for Women and Men

Between 1983 and 2003 the median age for women increased from 30.8 to 36.9 years, while the median age for men increased from 29.5 to 35.4 years.²

Graph 1.1 Median Age for Women and Men Over Time, 1983-2003

Age Composition and Ageing

In 1983 around 24 per cent of males and females were aged between 0-14.

By 2003, those figures had declined to 20 per cent.³

Conversely, (between 1983 and 2003) the proportions of older people in the population increased.

As the ABS publication Population by Age and Sex, 2003 details:

Proportionately the greatest population increase in the year to 30 June 2003 occurred among people aged 85 years and over...[There has been] a rapid increase in the elderly population, which has grown by 165% over the last twenty years, compared to a total population growth of 29% over the same period. ... Reflecting the higher life expectancy at birth of women compared to men, there have been over twice as many females (198,100) than males (91,400) in this age group at 30 June 2003.⁴

The trend towards an ageing population is being seen in many countries. Population Projections 2003, notes that:

...in countries such as Italy, Japan and Greece, the number of persons aged 65 years and over already exceeds the number of children aged 0-14. Population ageing in these countries is a result of sustained low fertility rates, coupled with relatively high life expectancy. In Australia, the number of people aged 65 years and over is not projected to exceed the number of children aged 0-14 until around 2020.⁵

Why is the Population Ageing?

Australia's ageing population is primarily due to the sustained decline in fertility which followed the post-war baby boom. In 1961, at the height of the baby boom the total fertility rate (i.e. the number of children a woman can be expected to have throughout her reproductive lifetime) peaked at 3.6 babies per woman. By the late 1970s, it had fallen to around half that level and has continued to decline (though at a much slower rate) through the 1980s and 1990s.⁶

Some Implications of an Ageing Population

Based on assumptions of continued low fertility, and small declines in mortality, Australia's population is projected to continue ageing into the next century.⁷

The article Our Ageing Population⁸ discusses some of the potential implications of an ageing population:

Australia's changing age structure has implications both for the level of social expenditure that might be required in future, and the level of resources that might be available to fund it.⁹

For example, as the population aged 65 and over increases in size, it is likely that spending on income support, aged care and health services will increase.

However, as the article further notes:

Changes in social values, attitudes and government policy will ... influence the level of support provided for older people (and other groups such as children, unemployed people and people with disabilities) as well as the respective roles of government, private business, community groups, families and individuals in providing it.¹⁰

Fertility and the Total Fertility Rate

As well as having fewer children, women are giving birth at older ages.

Births Australia 2002 reported that the median age of all women giving birth was 30.2 years, the highest on record. Fathers have aged as well, the median age rising to 32.5 years in 2002.¹¹

Graph 1.2 Median Age of Mothers (All Confinements) Over Time, 1982-2002

The ageing of first time mothers has also contributed to a decline in the fertility rate.

In 2002, Australia's total fertility rate was 1.75 babies per women, slightly higher than that recorded for 2001, where the total fertility rate was its lowest ever, at 1.73 babies per woman.¹²

According to a United Nations report, the average total fertility rate for the world stood at 2.7 babies per woman between 1995 and 2000. However, total fertility rates for various countries can differ remarkably. Amongst the many factors which can influence a country's fertility rate are differences in social and economic development and the availability of reliable contraceptives.

The 2002 Year Book, Australia, notes that: Australia's total fertility rate for 1999 of 1.75 babies per woman, is one of the lowest in the world and well below the world's average. Compared to other developed countries, Australia's total fertility rate is among those of the middle ranked nations. According to the United Nations' estimated average total fertility rates for 1995-2000, Italy and Spain have the lowest total fertility rate (1.2) followed by Germany and Hong Kong (1.3). In contrast, the Middle Eastern and African countries have ... high fertility rates, with Yemen (7.6) and Somalia (7.3) the highest.¹³

Fertility Decision Making

In addition to the decline in the total fertility rate, increasing numbers of Australian women and their partners are choosing not to have children. According to estimates from 2000 around one quarter of women in their reproductive years are likely never to have children.¹⁴

This trend towards childlessness is also being seen in other developed countries. Recent estimates for permanent childlessness for women in the United States and the United Kingdom stand at 22 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.¹⁵

The reasons both women and men choose to remain childless are complex and varied. Reasons include changing social values, the difficulty of combining work and family, the cost of raising children, the choice to pursue an education and/or career or a preference of a life without children.¹⁶

Similar reasons have also impacted on those who do have families, in many people now choosing to delay having a family and to limit family size.

Population Distribution

A country's population is not evenly spread between its borders. This is particularly true of Australia. In this country there are great contrasts between the highly populated coastal areas where the majority of the population live and the vast areas of remoteness in the centre of the continent.

Graph 1.3 Where Women Live, 1996-2001

Overseas Born Population

As with other Australians, the overseas-born population in Australia tends to be highly urbanised. According to Australian Social Trends, 2003, 83 per cent of those born in another country live in Australia's major cities.¹⁷

Of women born overseas, in 1991, the top three countries of birth were United Kingdom (30 per cent), New Zealand (seven per cent) and Italy (six per cent). This was also the case for 2001 with the proportions at 25 per cent, eight per cent and five per cent respectively.

Graph 1.4 Overseas Born Women by Top 10 Countries of Birth 1991-2001

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Footnotes

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003, Population by Age and Sex, Australian States and Territories, 2003, (Cat. No. 3201.0), Canberra.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Australian Bureau of Statistics 1999, Australian Social Trends 1999, (Cat. No. 4102.0), Canberra.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003, Age of women giving birth now older than ever, media release, 18 November 2003, Canberra, http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/, viewed 18 December 2003.
12 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003, Births 2002, Australia, (Cat No. 3301.0), Canberra.
13 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002, 2002 Year Book Australia, (Cat. No. 1301.0), Canberra.
14 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2000, Australian Social Trends 2000, (Cat. No. 4102.0), Canberra.
15 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002, Australian Social Trends 2002, (Cat. No. 4102.0), Canberra.
16 Ibid.
17 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003, Australian Social Trends 2003, (Cat. No. 4102.0), Canberra.

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Table 1.1 Geographic Distribution, Section of State,^(a) 1996 and 2001

Table 1.2 Overseas Born by Country of Birth, Top 10 Countries