Social Statistics Internet Guide
This section contains key statistical data useful for research in Social Work, Sociology, Social Policy and related areas within the Social Sciences. The Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian Institue of Family Studies websites all provide comprehensive starting points for researching social staitistics.
Australian Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Comprehensive source for Australian social, demographic and economic data. There are over thirty main categories of statistical information. Click on the Statistics option on the main
ABS website menu for other freely available statistical information. University of Sydney staff and students can access the
full-text of ABS publications (1998+). The themes section is particularly useful in locating on a particular social policy area.
url: Australian Bureau of Statistics
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
"The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare produces a wide range of publications covering such issues as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (in
collaboration); Aged Care; Cancer; Cardiovascular Disease; Child and Family Services; Dental Health (in collaboration); Disability Services; Food and Nutrition;
General Practice (in collaboration); Health and Welfare Expenditure; Health and Welfare Labour Force; Health Services; Health Technology (largely out of print);
Housing; Injury (in collaboration); Institute Publications; National Health and Welfare Information; Perinatal Health (in collaboration); and Population Health."
Many significant publications are available in full-text Adobe Acrobat format including Australia's Health; Australia's Welfare & Australia's Children: their health and well-being.
url: http://www.aihw.gov.au/
Australian Social Science Data Archive
ASSDA collects data files from all parts of Australia, and from many different types of organisations, including universities, market research companies, and government organisations. Since its establishment, ASSDA has collected over 1050 datasets from Australian Surveys and opinion polls. ASSDA also holds Australian population Census data and data from other countries within the Asia Pacific region. The uniqueness of ASSDA as a repository for machine-readable data makes it an attractive storage place for many important national surveys. Data stored in the archives can usually be made available for secondary analysis, depending on whether the depositor(s) imposed restrictions on access to the data. ASSDA catalogue is available from this website.
url: http://assda.anu.edu.au/about.html
Australian Institute of Family Studies: Trends and Statistics
Directory of Social Statistics compiled by the Australian Institute of Family Studies url: http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/info/trends.html
Parliament of Australia. Department of the Parliamentary Library. Statistical Directory.
url: http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/stats/
Development
Ausaid Statistics - Statistics on NGO Activities
url: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/ngos/stats.cfm
Data & Research
url: http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/0,,menuPK:476823~pagePK:64165236~piPK:64165141~theSitePK:469372,00.html
OECD Aid Statistics
url: http://www.oecd.org/department/0,2688,en_2649_34447_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
OECD Development Statistics Portal
url: http://www.oecd.org/topicstatsportal/0,2647,en_2825_495602_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
Eldis Statistics - links to key data in major organisations
url: http://www.eldis.org/statistics/index.htm
Human Development Report 2006
url: http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/
World Development Indicators 2007
url: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,menuPK:232599~pagePK:64133170~piPK:64133498~theSitePK:239419,00.html
See also: this product is also available in Fisher Library
Gender Stats (World Bank site)
url: http://devdata.worldbank.org/genderstats/home.asp
Back to Development Studies Guide
Economic and Social Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Key National Indicators.
This Australian Bureau of Statistics website contains a summary of Australia's key economic and social indicators. Data is updated as
soon as it becomes available.
url: http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.nsf/4a256353001af3ed4b2562bb00121564/58ba6eb7feb12df74a2564a50083481d?OpenDocument
Monthly Economic and Social Indicators (MESI)
Compiled by the Parliament of Australia, Parliamentary Library this online publication contains tables and graphs for the major economic and social indicators.
A Monthly Economic and Social Indicators (MESI), Historical Supplement 1999
is also available. It is noted on these websites that material has been "...prepared for general distribution to Members of the Australian
Parliament. and is not an " official parliamentary
or Australian government document."
url: http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/mesi/
Commonwealth Department of the Treasury. Economic Data.
This website includes "...details key indicators of the Australian economy that are recorded for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
Competitiveness Based Indices; The most recent annual and quarterly data on TreasuryÕs three
competitiveness based indices, namely: Unit Labour Costs (ULC); the Consumer Price Index (CPI); and GDP implicit
price deflator; Pocket Brief to the Australian Taxation System; A brief overview of taxation arrangements in Australia, in
figure tables and the most recent annual and quarterly data on nominal and real
unit labour cost estimates."
url: http://www.treasury.gov.au/content/economic.asp
Australian Overseas Aid. Aid Program Statistics
Australian Budget for Overseas Aid available in PDF and HTML formats from the Australian Agency for International Development Website.
url: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/about/stats/default.cfm
Australian Bureau of Tourism Research. data Resources
Datacard is the Australian Bureau of Tourism Research Website which provides a pocket reference to key tourism statistics. Selected statistics from:
The International Visitor Survey; The National Visitor Survey and The Domestic Tourism Monitor are available. Note only selected statistics are available.
Freely available statistical data is available from the Bureau of Tourism Datacard page.
url: http://www.btr.gov.au/service/svc_index.cfm
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Indigenous Statistics
Comprehensive data compled by National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics and ABS.
url: ABS Indigenous Statistical Data
Statistical Profile - Aboriginal Women and Torres Strait Islander Women
Statistical data covering the following areas.
url: http://www.atsic.gov.au/classroom/statistics/Statistical_Profile/Statistical_Profile_women.pdf
Australian Demographic Data
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Community Profile Data on the Internet
This ABS Website provides summary tables from the 1996 Census Basic Community Profile series. Required area can be located by clicking on a map, selecting links
for regions then sub-regions or by using the website search engine. Data can be obtained for Statistical Local Areas to total Australia.
url: http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310108.nsf/
Australian Historical Population Statistics
url: ABS Data
Education
ABS Themes - Education and Training
Education and training statistics provide measures of the levels and effects of education and training activity, and are seen as key indicators of, and contributors to, the wellbeing of society. The information is used by the Australian and state and territory governments for a variety of purposes which include planning, budgeting, policy design and program evaluation by providers of education and training as well as researchers and the community.
url: http://www.abs.gov.au/Websitedbs/c311215.nsf/22b99697d1e47ad8ca2568e30008e1bc/7f8cb789ccd647e3ca2569ba00168c94!OpenDocument
UNESCO Institute for Statistics - Education
Education statistics concern pre-primary, primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, and tertiary education, as well as education finance. Education indicators on literacy, gender disparities, out-of-school children, and so on have a high priority.
url: http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?URL_ID=3753&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201
Health and Ageing
A Social Health Atlas of Australia
Download atlases for the states and territories. Published by Public Health Information Development Unit
url: http://www.publichealth.gov.au/atlas.htm
Australian Care Statistics
Statistical information from Aged and Community Care Division, Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care. Statistics include Community Care Statistics 1995-96 to1997-98,
Length of Stay in Nursing Homes and Hostels 1996/97; Nursing Homes in Australia 1995-96: A Statistical Overview;
Older Australia at a Glance Fact Sheets; Residential Aged Care Sector Summary - January 1997.
url: http://www.health.gov.au/acc/stat/
NSW Health: Data & Statistics
Includes Statistical surveys and reports, Health Service Comparisons, Hospital statistics, Population Health data and links to related information
url: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/research/index.html
Women's Health Australia
Data and statistics from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health
url: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/centre/wha/
Communicable Diseases Australia. Annual disease data
Statistical data for communicable diseases url: http://www.dhs.sa.gov.au/pehs/disease-control-stats.htm
Health Insurance Commission, Statistical Information.
Statistics for medical and pharmaceutical benefits, immunisation and childcare rebates.
url: http://www.hic.gov.au/providers/health_statistics/statistical_reporting.htm
Australian Bureau of Statistics: Population - Population Projections: Our ageing population
Excellent statistical overview of Australia's Ageing population. Includes references to additional statistival sources.
url: ABS data
Australian Bureau of Statistics: Disability, Ageing and Carers
Links to ABS special publications and key data sources.
url: ABS data
Older Australians at a Glance
Statistical overview of older Australians produced by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Office for Older Australians in the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care.
url: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/welfare/oag02/index.html
Older People, New South Wales
ABS Data available for downloading University of Sydney Staff and students only.
url: ABS Data
New South Wales Older People's Health Survey 1999
The report of the New South Wales Older People’s Health Survey 1999 provides comprehensive information on the health and well-being of older people in NSW. The survey was carried out by telephone in late 1999 and early 2000 in response to the need for timely, reliable and relevant information on the lifestyle, health and well-being of older people. Over 9,000 people aged 65 years and over agreed to participate. The survey was funded by by the NSW Health Department and the NSW Ageing and Disability Department."
url: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/ophs99/index.htm
The Aged in Australia
A Research Guide and Select Bibliography of Australian Publications.Prepared by the National Library of Australia to mark the International Year of Older Persons 1999. Compiled by Roy Jordan. National Library of Australia 1999.
url: http://www.nla.gov.au/guides/aged/index.html
National Injury Surveillance Unit (NISU) Data Publications
Based at Flinders University, South Australia NISU provides data on Injury deaths. There are special reports on firearm related deaths and youth suicide and self injury and
An Atlas of Injury Death in Australia 1990-1992 giving distribution of selected causes of injury death by Statistical Subdivision. The What's new section of this website often provides listings of publications on specific topics (eg. eye injuries, dogbites etc)
url: http://www.aifs.org.au/ysp/statistics.html
Suicide Prevention Communications Project. Statistics
Resource Guide compiled by the Australian Institute of Family Studies
url: http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/data/index.html
Australia's Breast Cancer Statistics.
Collated by the National Breast Cancer Centre from various official statistical sources
url: http://www.breasthealth.com.au/statisticsresearch.html
Australian Immigration & Migration Statistics
Australian Immigration Statistics.
Basic statistical information from Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA). Statistics are available for the Migration Program, Humanitarian Program,
Settler arrivals (summary only), Population Flows and annual Consolidated Statistics.
url: http://www.immi.gov.au/statistics/index.htm
Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness-Statistical Index.
Prepared by Australian Bureau of Statistics and Professor Murray Goot, Professor of Politics at Macquarie University includes two sections Demographic and sociological trends in Australia since 1947;
& Migrant numbers, Asian immigration and multiculturalism: trends in the polls, 1943-1998. Also avaialble in word or PDF formats.
url: http://www.immi.gov.au/multicultural/_inc/publications/nmac/statistics.pdf
Refugee Review Tribunal Statistics
Statistical data is available for finalisations, lodgements and applications url: http://www.rrt.gov.au/publications.htm#statistics
International Immigration Yearbook of Australia 2002
Overview of Internation immigration to Australia from the 2002 ABS Statistical Yearbook. This article provides an excellent starting point locating Australian data in this area. The related link Migration Australia leads to more than twenty statistical publications.
url: International migration
Australian Immigration Portal
This Australian government portal contains a student section which summarises and provides links to key statistical data that relates to Australia. url: http://immigrationportal.gov.au/overview/studentsinfo.htm
Refugee Council of Australia. Facts & Stats url: http://www.illywhacker.net/asylum/
Asylum seekers in Australia: some fallacies
Statistical profile of Austrlian Asylum seekers based on clerly referenced sources produced by Andrew Solomon Faculty of Information Technology, University of Technology, Sydney. url: http://www.illywhacker.net/asylum/
Face the Facts: Some Questions and Answers about Immigration, Refugees and Indigenous Affairs
Copyright Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 2001, Sydney. This website contains a useful section on sources for data and information on refugees and asylum seekers. url: http://www.illywhacker.net/asylum/
Crime and Justice Statistics
ABS Statistics for Crime & Justice
New South Wales Court and Criminal (trends, offenders, victims, domestic violence) Statistics and fact sheets on hot topics such as
juvenile crime, assaults, knife attacks and robberies.
url: ABS Data
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research.
New South Wales Court and Criminal (trends, offenders, victims, domestic violence) Statistics and fact sheets on hot topics such as
juvenile crime, assaults, knife attacks and robberies.
url: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/bocsar1.nsf/pages/index
Australian Institute of Criminology.
Comprehensive source for Australian Criminal Justice Statistics includes a Statistical Profile of Crime in Australia, facts and figures for 1998 and 1999,
juvenile, homicide, fire arm deaths, deaths in custody and police service statistics.
url: http://www.aic.gov.au/stats/index.html
Australian Institute of Criminology: Evaluation in Crime and Justice Trends and Methods
Comprehensive source for Australian Criminal Justice Statistics includes a Statistical Profile of Crime in Australia, facts and figures for 1998 and 1999,
juvenile, homicide, fire arm deaths, deaths in custody and police service statistics.
url: http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/evaluation/
Australian Institute of Criminology: Crime Prevention for Older Australians
Proceedings of a conference held in 2003 that discusses current issues and challenges involved with criminal justice research and evaluation.
url: http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/evaluation/
Australian Institute of Criminology: Crime and Older People
A collection of Papers from a conference held in 1993.
url: http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/olderpeople/
CRC Justice Support: Prison Statistics New South Wales
Useful and sourced statistical overview of NSW prisons url: http://www.crcjs.org.au/statistics.htm
Justice Action
Comprehensive collection of links to New South Wales Prison Statistics url: http://www.justiceaction.org.au/Prisons/ndx_prisons.html
Youth and Children
Australian Youth Survey 1989-1994
Available from the Australian Social Science Data Archive (ASSDA)the Australian Youth Survey is a longitudinal survey program based on annual interviews with young people aged 16-19 in 1989, with a new sample of 16 year olds added each year from 1990-1994. The survey looks at the dynamics of the youth labour market, Topics include detailed work history, job search behaviour, job training, experience with the Commonwealth Employment Service, secondary schooling and retention to Year 12, career advice, post-secondary education and qualifications, transition from school/study to work, health, housing and financial conditions.
Basic demographic variables include age, sex, marital status, size of household, country of birth, racial origin, parental education and occupation, religion, income, and area of residence
url: http://assda.anu.edu.au/codebooks/ays94/title.html
Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY)
The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) project studies the progress of several groups of young Australians as they move from school into post-secondary education and/or work. The oldest group in the project was born in 1961 while the youngest were in Year 9 in 1998. This website provides some data and information for this project. Many research reports are available for downloading
url: LSAY Information
Youth Poll
Results from the Australian Democrats poll which asks "young Australians for their views on a range of issues. These range from employment and education through to sex, drugs and entertainment."
url: http://www.democrats.org.au/campaigns/youth2001/index.htm
Youth Suicide in Australia: a baclground monograph
Produced by Health Services Division Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, Mental Health Branch. The report is available for downloading in PDF format and includes statistical appendicies.
url: http://www.health.gov.au/hsdd/mentalhe/resources/nysps/toc.htm
Youth Drug Use Australia
Statistical Data from the Australian Institute of Criminology. Latest data available 1996.
url: http://www.aic.gov.au/research/drugs/stats/youth/
Australian secondary students’ use of over-the- counter and illicit substances in 1999
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Publication statistical data is also available for 1996.
url: http://www.health.gov.au/pubhlth/publicat/document/mono46.pdf