World health report

OECD announcements

OECD Health Data 2008 released (26 June 2008)

Health at a Glance: OECD Indicators 2007 released (13 November 2007)

AIHW new releases

Community housing tenants: results from the 2007 National Social Housing Survey (19 November 2008) (media release and publication)

Disability in Australia: intellectual disability (12 November 2008) (media release and publication)

Eye health among Australian children (7 November 2008) (media release and publication)

Neural tube defects in Australia (5 November 2008) (media release and publication)

Dental practice activity by geographic location (3 November 2008) (publication)

Much of the Australian data supplied to WHO are incorporated into WHO reports, such as the World Health Report. Tables in the statistical annex of the World Health Report 2004 present updated information on the burden of disease and summary measures of population in WHO Member States and Regions. The explanatory notes included in the statistical annex provide more information as to the sources and methods used.

Information supplied to WHO by AIHW, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing and other government organisations, was used to compile the following tables:

Annex Table 1: Basic indicators for Australia

This table in the World Health Report 2004 uses estimates of population size and structure calculated by the United Nations Population Division, and published in United Nations Population Division 2003. World population prospects-the 2002 revision. New York: United Nations.

This 2002 revision of data is now available from the United Nations Population Division [external link].

Other data in this table were derived from life tables calculated by WHO and incorporates the latest WHO-calculated life tables [external link] available for Australia and 190 other Member Countries.

Background material about the construction of these life tables has been published in Lopez, AD, Ahmad O, Guillot M, Inoue M, Ferguson B 2001. Life tables for 191 countries for 2000: data, methods, results. Geneva: WHO (GPE Discussion Paper No. 40) [4.55MBPDF, external link]

The indicators in this table can also be sourced from data held by AIHW and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The following table presents latest data for the indicators in Annex Table 1:

  1992 1999 2000 2001 2002
           
Population estimates ('000)
Total population 17,495 18,926 19,153 19,413 19,641
Age 0-14 3,816 3,951 3,966 3,987 3,984
Age 15-64 11,675 12,640 12,808 12,991 13,166
Age 65 and over 2,004 2,335 2,379 2,436 2,491
Dependency ratio (per 100) 50 50 50 49 49
Annual growth rate since 1992 (percent) - 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.2
Age 60 and over 2,732 3,105 3,177 3,258 3,338
Percent of population aged 60+ 15.6 16.4 16.6 16.8 17.0
Total fertility rate 1.89 1.76 1.76 1.73 1.75
Life expectancy at birth (years)
Males 74.5 76.2 76.6 77.0 77.4
Females 80.4 81.8 82.0 82.4 82.6
Probability of dying (per 1,000)
Under age 5, males 9 7 7 7 7
Under age 5, females 7 6 6 6 6
Between ages 15 and 60, males 124 109 107 103 99
Between ages 15 and 60, females 67 60 59 57 56

Note: Populations are estimated resident mid-year populations.

Sources: AIHW Population Database, ABS Cat. No. 3301.0 Births, ABS Cat. No. 3302.0 Deaths.

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Annex Table 2: Deaths by cause, sex and mortality stratum, Australia, 2002

In the World Health Report 2004, WHO has compiled cause of death data for 14 subregions of the world, as well as the entire world, based on data from national vital registration systems. Australian data are also used in this compilation.

A summary table of deaths by cause and sex, registered in the year 2002 in Australia, enables comparisons with the 14 subregions presented by WHO.

Annex Table 4: Healthy life expectancy (HALE) in Australia, estimates for 2002

Beginning with the year 1999, WHO began making annual life tables for all Member States. These life tables [external link] have several uses and form the basis of all WHO's estimates about mortality patterns and levels world-wide. A key use of these life tables is in the construction of healthy life expectancy (HALE) which is the basic indicator of population health levels used by WHO and published each year in the World Health Report.

Background material about the construction of these life tables has been published in Lopez, AD, Ahmad O, Guillot M, Inoue M, Ferguson B 2001. Life tables for 191 countries for 2000: data, methods, results. Geneva: WHO (GPE Discussion Paper No. 40) [external link].

Healthy life expectancy (HALE) is based on life expectancy, but includes an adjustment for time spent in poor health. This indicator measures the equivalent number of years in full health that a newborn child can expect to live based on the current mortality rates and prevalence distribution of health states in the population.

The latest HALE calculations available for Australia and other Member Countries can be found at the WHOSIS website [external link].

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Annex Tables 5 and 6: Selected National Health Accounts indicators for Australia, measured levels of expenditure on health, 1997-2001. 

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) collects detailed information from Member Countries for many health indicators, including National Health Accounts. These data are made available in OECD Health Data. Australian data for this database is supplied by AIHW. 

WHO uses this database to compile Annex Tables 5 and 6. 

Note: This database is updated annually, and the current data presented here may differ from data presented in the World Health Report 2004. The following table presents latest data for the indicators in Annex Tables 5 and 6.

  1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02
Total expenditure on health as percentage of GDP 8.5 8.6 8.8 9.1 9.2
General government expenditure on health as percentage of total expenditure on health 67.8 68.2 69.4 68.7 68.2
Private expenditure on health as percentage of total expenditure on health 32.2 31.8 30.6 31.3 31.8
General government expenditure on health as percentage of total government expenditure 14.9 15.4 16.1 15.9 16.7
External resources for health as percentage of total expenditure on health 0 0 0 0 0
Social security expenditure on health as percentage of general government expenditure on health 0 0 0 0 0
Out-of-pocket expenditure as percentage of private expenditure on health 53.7 57.6 59.2 60.5 60.7
Private prepaid plans as percentage of private expenditure on health 27.8 24.0 21.5 22.1 23.8
Per capita expenditure on health at average exchange rate (USD) 1,905 1,711 1,871 1,825 1,739
Per capita total expenditure at international dollar rate 1,948 2,077 2,231 2,379 2,504
Per capita government expenditure on health at average exchange rate (USD) 1,291 1,166 1,299 1,254 1,186
Per capita government expenditure on health at international dollar rate 1,320 1,415 1,549 1,635 1,708
Source: OECD Health Data 2004.

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Annex Table 7: Millennium Development Goals: selected health indicators for Australia, 2000-2002

In September 2000, representatives of 189 countries met at the Millennium Summit in New York and committed themselves to working towards a world in which sustaining development and eliminating poverty would have the highest priority. The Millennium Development Goals [external link] summarise the commitments and have been commonly accepted as a framework for measuring development progress.

Annex Table 7 provides baseline information for Australia for selected Millennium Development Goals health indicators.

  2000 2001 2002
Children under five years of age underweight for age (percent) n.a. n.a. n.a.
Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 6 6 6
Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 5 5 5
Two-year-olds immunized against measles (percent) 91 93 93
Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births) 6 5 5
Births attended by skilled health personnel (percent) 100 100 100
HIV prevalence among 15-49-year-olds (percent) 0.1 0.1 0.1
Malaria mortality rate (per 100,000) 0 0 0
Tuberculosis prevalence (per 100,000) 5 5 5
Tuberculosis mortality rate (per 100,000) 0 0 0
Population using solid fuels (percent) <5 <5 <5
Population with sustainable access to an improved water source (percent) 100 100 100
Population with access to improved sanitation (percent) 100 100 100
Sources: ABS Cat. No. 3302.0 Deaths, Communicable Diseases Intelligence, NCHECR Annual Report.

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Last reviewed by on 5 July 2004