8th August, 2007

Australians are fatter, less likely to marry, and spending more, according to statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Among the key findings in the ABS publication, Australian Social Trends 2007, were
that:

• around 7.4 million Australian adults were overweight or obese, up two million from 2005;

• the probability of marrying has declined and if current trends continue as many as 31 per cent of men and 26 per cent of women will never marry; and,

• household spending has increased by two per cent per year since 1985-86 to an average annual expenditure per person of $26,100 in 2005-06 with the largest increases on communication services and goods for recreational and cultural activities.

Other findings show that Australia’s fertility rate has rebounded to 1.81 babies per woman after reaching an historic low in 2001 of 1.73. One in five children in 2004-06 were found to live in one parent families with these families at a higher risk of disadvantage compared to couple families with children of the same age.

The data also shows that the amount of solid waste generated in Australia rose by six per cent a year between 1996-97 and 2002-03 (excluding Tasmania and the Northern Territory) while the amount of solid waste being reused or recycled rose almost ten fold over the same period.

~ www.abs.gov.au.

- DAVID ADAMS