This is the data that will be used for every important decision made by a huge variety of governments, organisations and businesses over the next 5 years. Everything from budgeting future infrastructure projects to planning the needs of daycare or services for the elderly uses census data. Major policy decisions of all political parties will rely on its accuracy and at the end of the day, everyday joes like you and me will be affected down the line.
I'm a numbers nerd anyway but what really interests me is where I fit in, compared to the rest of the country. Let's take a look shall we?
- Women rule! Well, we outnumber the guys. I'm below the median age for the country.
- Unfortunately my wage is below the national median - sad face.
- Married rates are the same since the last census. I would have been single at the time of the census though, so I have contributed to the data for the next one! However, I am not one of the 45% who describe themselves as a couple with children.
- My home of Brisbane recorded the greatest increase in people living in a government area - I contributed by moving here 5 years ago!
- I'm also one of those who recorded 'no religion' - this year that figure jumped by 18.7% to overtake Anglican as a religious affiliation.
- You certainly didn't need data to tell me that the increases in the cost of housing have not been met by a matching increase in income! But nice to have my opinion backed up by a competent authority.
What did you think of the trends revealed in the census? The mining boom, same-sex marriage, migration, languages spoken at home, ageing population - the list goes on.
There's also the mystery of the missing 300,000 people from previous population estimates!
Sources:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-21/census-stats-reveal-australian-population-growing-strongly/4084130
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/key-facts-from-the-2011-census/story-fn59niix-1226404283130
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/snapshot-of-a-state--what-the-census-says-about-queensland-20120621-20pz5.html
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/australians-vanish-in-census-mystery-20120620-20oh5.html
Hi, I'm Sarah! I'm 33 and searching for my passion.
Until then, I slog away in a cubicle working full-time and focus on enjoying my downtime with things like TV (my old friend), movies, twitter, (trying to) cook, reading and hanging out with my hubby. My head is turned by things like vintage homewares, stationery, chocolate and scrapbooking. I blog about whatever takes my fancy.
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